This cheese has been crowned "best cheese in the world" (and it's French!).
Every two years, the Mondial du fromage elects the World's Best Cheese. This year, among the 1,600 products in the running, Maison Berthaut's cheese took top honors.
The reputation of French quality is well established! For its 6ᵉ edition, the Mondial du Fromage saw over 1,600 dairy products compete for the year's "Best Cheese Award". And it was Maison Berthaut, from the Côte-d'Or, that was crowned the winner! A well-deserved honor for a cheese that almost became extinct.
An endangered cheese
For three days, from September 10 to 12, 2023, 48 countries gathered in Tours for the Mondial du fromage et des produits laitiers. 1,550 products, from yoghurt to butter to flavored cheese, competed to win the Best Cheese of the Year award. And for this sixth edition, the jury awarded the prize to Epoisses "Perrière" from fromagerie Berthaut, based in Époisses (Côte-d'Or).
Invented in the XVIᵉ century by monks settled in the village of Époisses, this strong-smelling cheese was then designated "king of cheeses" by the gastronome Brillat-Savarin, reports France 3. But by the 1950s, only two farms were still producing the cheese. Since 1956, the Berthaut cheese dairy has been rehabilitating this know-how.
It has to be said that this cheese requires a lot of hard work, much of it human production. "It's a cheese that's too fragile to be washed in a machine, so we make it by hand," Julien Masson, head of maturing and packaging at Fromagerie Berthaut, explains to TF1. This is followed by four weeks of maturing in eight different cellars, and a great deal of care and attention. As a result, the cheese has been awarded the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) and the Appellation d'Origine Protégée (AOP).
With a trophy like this, there's no doubt that this melt-in-the-mouth orange cheese will never again be forgotten!
These news might interest you
Fabrice Pouillon: his champagne method
Fabrice Pouillon is the third generation to run the family domaine at Mareuil-sur-Aÿ in the Marne region of France, and he has an intrinsic respect for the heritage he has inherited: respect for the vines and for fine work. Constantly questioning himself, curious and eager to experiment, the Champenois celebrates his 26th harvest this September.Arnaud Faye, aiming for excellence
What if we didn't talk cooking with Arnaud Faye, the Executive Chef of Le Bristol Paris, who unveiled his first creations for the Epicure restaurant in September 2024? This Meilleur ouvrier de France has agreed to think outside the box and reveal what drives him, from his first glass of vosne-romanée to his latest musical tastes and his certificate in mental preparation for professional performance.Food products, kitchen equipment, tableware, service solutions...
See the full list of partners who place their trust in Gault&Millau
All our partners