Off The Beaten Path In Paris: La Ferme d'Alexandre

Located just a block away from La Grande Épicerie in Saint Germain, la Ferme d'Alexandre doesn't feel "off the beaten path," but I wanted to share it with you anyway. I've come to love this place, not only for their fabulous cheese selection, but for the kindness and knowledge of  the owner Alex, and the entire staff.

I shop here every week to  buy fromage for the French cheese workshop we offer at Paris by Mouth, so I've gotten to know them and what they offer very well. And if you follow me on Instagram, you've most likely seen many of their cheeses and their beautiful blue and gold tile floor!



They always have some interesting sheep milk cheeses from the Pyrénées and right now their goat cheese section is amazing! You can also find the last raw milk farmer produced Époisses in France here, as well as a handful of delicious Italian cheeses.
And in addition to cheese, there is a good selection of charcuterie, unpasteurized butter, cream straight from farms in Normandy, honey, small producer wine and jam, and bread on the weekends.
If you find yourself near either of Alex's fromageries, they are definitely worth a visit!



La Ferme d'Alexandre
19 rue Saint-Placide
75006 Paris

and

21 rue Mouton Duvernet
75014 Paris

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Off The Beaten Path: Cheese Shops In Paris

Last week France feted its National Day of Cheese, a day I love to celebrate. (yeah...who am I kidding...I celebrate French cheese pretty much every day!)

But it got me thinking about the fromageries here in Paris. There are a handful of famous fromagères and fromagers in the city who are lauded over and over, but what about the minor players? What about the small, off the beaten path cheese shops? What about the passionate cheesemongers with only a few staff members who take precious time off from their already busy schedules to visit farms and find small producers so they can offer new and interesting cheese and dairy to their customers? Let's talk about them. And let's support them!

And there is a lot to talk about!

I've met classical musicians, bankers and accountants who left their careers to become cheesemongers and to open up their own cheese shops, and there's even an actual dairy in Paris now. I see more and more young people buying up and breathing new life into outdated fromageries.

One of these places is La Ferme du Hameau.

I first visited this little place when we moved into the neighborhood over 3 years ago. There was a nice young man running it, however the atmosphere felt a bit triste and the cheese selection wasn't that great so I only shopped there a couple of times.

Then in late December I read some exciting news. Pierre Brisson, the lovely owner of Paroles de Fromagers in the 10ème arrondissement, had purchased La Ferme du Hameau. I've known this guy for several years and he is a gem. And he knows his cheese!

He's slowly renovating the space and expanding his selection of cheese, jam, honey, wine and craft beers. His cheeses include the usual suspects, in addition to a good number of farmer and small producer offerings. It's rare for me to discover a cheese that I haven't already tried, but his boutiques often have something new for me to take home.

Yes I know, le 15ème is a bit off the beaten path for most Parisians, but sometimes it's worth making a trip out to "the country" (as my friends in the Marais like to jokingly call it) for special little places. N'est ce pas?

La Ferme du Hameau
223 rue de la Croix Nivert
75015 Paris

Pierre is also an affineur and offers workshops on cheese making at his shop in the 10ème.

Paroles de Fromagers
41 rue du Faubourg du Temple
75010 Paris






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Sweet Dreams Are Made Of Cheese

March 27 is la Journée Nationale du Fromage, or National Cheese Day, here in France. Today we will be honoring rare, small production, farmer produced, raw milk cheeses.

You can be sure that I'll be celebrating!





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