In Paris, this unusual school teaches you how to make your own cheese like a pro and is a hit

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It's an unusual activity that cheesemaker Pierre Brisson offers to Parisians and French and foreign visitors passing through the capital: making their own cheese! “I have always liked to pass on my passion for this product but also to discover know-how which completely belongs to French culture”, specifies this merchant with an atypical profile, both a cheesemaker in stores, a provider of courses to individuals and to professionals in retraining and founder of the first “Living Museum of Cheese” which opened its doors in Paris last June.

Milk from Seine-et-Marne

Classes take place in a professional workshop located above the first store created by Pierre Brisson, “La Ferme du Faubourg”, located rue du Faubourg du Temple, in the 10th arrondissement. “The sessions – there are four per week – are organized in groups of eight to ten people,” explains the founder.

“As I like to put it, you learn to make cheese “from B to Z” because step A is the responsibility of the farmer, who harvests his milk!” The milk, precisely, arrives raw directly from a farm in Seine-et-Marne. Pierre Brisson orders up to 200 liters per week for his two workshops, the living cheese museum also has its own dairy.

Le fromage, so french !

Supervised by a professional, amateurs have a few hours to make unripened cheeses such as ricotta, creamy mozzarella, fresh tome or even artisanal butter. “The goal is that participants can leave with their creation and enjoy it with their family or friends! », smiles Pierre Brisson. “It really gives good taste results and that’s what people like!” »

In fact, the sessions are generally full, half of them French amateurs, and the other half foreign visitors, particularly Americans. “These customers are often real cheese enthusiasts, eager to discover this somewhat mythical side of French culture from the inside,” explains the founder.

Often packed sessions

Manufacturing courses are sometimes combined with “caseology” workshops, intended to familiarize participants with product knowledge and tasting. “In these cases, after production, we bring up whole cheeses to learn how to cut them and we create beautiful aperitif platters together,” continues Pierre Brisson. Then head to the tasting room in the basement made of old stones and wood to discover the flavors of the different cheeses and the best pairings with the wines. “We always try to go beyond tasting and take the opportunity to pass on knowledge about products and producers.”

Passionate about cheese since his early childhood, the founder of “Paroles de fromagers” understood very early on the expectations of the public, particularly in Paris, for this type of training workshop. “Cheese is, like wine, an eminently cultural product, which requires education and an exercise of the senses,” explains this son of a Beaujolais winegrower.

In 2013, with a Master 2 in hotel and catering management in hand, Pierre Brisson started as a “flying cheesemaker”, providing his discovery and tasting workshops in hotels, cheese makers and wine merchants. “When I set up in my first brick-and-mortar business, I already had a loyal clientele, because I was one of the few in this niche.” Today, the reputation of this autodidact has gone far beyond the borders of the capital. Next January, he has even been selected to organize the Parisian festivities for the 100th anniversary of the Roquefort appellation!

B.C

Paroles de fromagers – 41, rue du Faubourg du Temple – 75010 Paris – Telephone: 01 48 03 98 18

Caseology course: €70 (1h30)

Cheese making: €76 (3h)

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