former opera singer, here he is a cheesemaker, for a symphony of flavors

In Dole in the Jura, Clément Gavand has been playing the melody of flavors since 2021. This former artist and his partner run a creamery in which music is never far away.

Eddy de Pretto, Céline Dion or Zaho de Sagazan in the background. The tone is set in this boutique in old Dole. Here the cheeses are matured, chosen with taste and love… and musical notes. An unexpected mix of genres that doesn't seem to surprise customers. “We are very well received and advised. It was great. And then it changes from the normal routine” confides this client to the microphone of our journalist Norbert Evangelista.

Not all customers know this. Clément Gavand, 35, had another life before cheese. He studied music from the age of six, entering the master's degree at Dole. He was even a lyric singer at the Notre-Dame de Paris master's before realizing that the world of cheese suited him better and heading back to his Jura.

Self-taught, the former countertenor learned the trade, and in February 2024 won the bronze medal at the agricultural show in the Lyre d'Or competition. He had to put together a cheese platter on the theme of the Olympic Games.

I remain an artist at heart, and art is essential to being human.

Clément Gavand, “the cheese boys”

“We take care of our cheeses. It’s an art to know how to refine them, bring them to maturity” adds Clément Gavand, who carefully designs his cheese platters for customers. “Coming from an artistic background is what will also make us creative. We think of our cheese platters like paintings. You must first flatter the eye before flattering the palate” believes the former singer who regularly raises his voice behind the counter.

Report by Norbert Evangelista and Hugues Perret

Since he began working in this profession, Clément Gavand has enjoyed finding the cheese that will please a particular person. “Sensitivity is taste. And so we are going to touch the intimate by talking about taste with our customers”. Cheese boys also love their job for these exchanges that go beyond the act of purchasing.

Clément Gavant, who likes challenges, will perhaps try other competitions, why not that of the best cheese worker. Lyrical art as a heritage, today it sublimates Comté cheeses with Roquefort.

What I like about cheese is that we start with milk, simple milk, and we arrive at thousands of possibilities. It's like human beings, we come across billions of different beings.

Clément Gavant, cheesemaker

Without a false note, the cheese boy, a former resident of the Notre-Dame master's office, says he has found peace behind his neat display, lulled by these melodies that he sings despite himself.