As much as I love Bayeux, since moving here last winter it's been missing something I consider quite important for a French town of its size...a fromagerie!
It's strange, because you would think that here in Normandy, in the land of cheese and butter, there would be a cheese shop on every corner of every town. Sadly, that's not necessarily the case. Even Caen, a city with a population of almost 250,000, can boast only one fromagerie. And I've been there. Their selection is pretty pathetic.
So, I'm thrilled to report that since January, Bayeux is the home to a well stocked, friendly little cheese shop, La Fromagerie de Bayeux.
Its owners are no strangers to the cheese business. Jérémy Thomas, artisan fromager, spent several years working at Rungis and also learned the ins and outs of the business at his uncle's shop in Paris, la Fromagerie Pascal Trotté. His wife, Peggy, is a third generation fromagère in her family, following in the footsteps of her grandfather, her uncle and her father. That's quite a legacy!
Luckily for us, these two have decided to make Bayeux their home.
And, as it's the only fromagerie in Bayeux, I have no doubt that I'll be voted their best customer by the end of the year. An honor I would graciously and happily accept!
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24 comments:
I'll bet you did a happy dance when you found this shop.
My husband likes to quote what he says is a well-known saying: “The best cheese in France is butter from Normandy.” Cute – but choose a “best” cheese? I couldn’t!
J'adore le Valencais!
I totally agree with the sign: cheese makes a perfectly fine dinner.
You must be so happy. I couldn't live without the fromagerie. That's odd that there aren't (or weren't) any in your area. Here in Aix we have many and I never stop delighting in the passion and knowledge their owners have for cheese. Bonne degustation!
Hooray! Amazing that there are so few fromageries in Normandy, though. At least there are the markets!
Goodness, I assumed there would be a fromagerie on every corner! It looks luscious :)
No fromagerie any more in the Saint-Aignan area either, but there are good ones in the local Sat. and Sun. markets. Many French people just buy their cheeses at the supermarket these days.
I am sure you will be a faithful and inquisitive client which is a very good thing for a fomagerie because they need to move the fromage and you are interested in trying new cheeses. Enjoy your new find and have a great week.
Emm
You know I did!
P.J.
Well, there is some truth in that saying...the butter here is amazing!
but I couldn't choose just one favorite French cheese! There are too many that I love.
La Torontoise
Moi aussi!
meredith
I love that sign. And I agree with you.
Delana
It is very strange that there weren't any Fromageries here. Great cheese vendors at the market though!
camille
Thankfully Bayeux has a fabulous Saturday market, with plenty of fromage!
Veronica
I thought there would have been too!
Ken
It's sad that the small towns can't support a Fromagerie or two anymore. I hope this place will be a success!
Michel
I plan on being a very faithful client. :)
Hope you had a good weekend.
LouLou
Thank you for the tip. Added to our list about Basse Normandie.
I can't wait until I get the chance to visit a French fromagerie. I am heading to Seattle for a weekend in May and have my eye on one there. Cheese is a wonderful thing!
Murissa
Beaver
Glad to have added to the list!
:)
Murissa
Love the new photo of you! Have fun in Seattle.
Spending 4 days in Bayeux in August. So happy to hear there is a cheese shop there now. I will be visiting it every day I am there, I am sure! Do you like living in the Normandy area?
jweich
Hope you have a fantastic time in Normandy and Bayeux.
We love living here and are very happy that we moved up here from the south.
My husband and I plan to spend two months in France next year -- probably Southern France. But we love the Normandy region too. I'm curious as to why you moved up from the south? Did you post anything about that?
Is there a chance I could take you to lunch in Bayeux while I'm there to talk a little bit about living in France and your opinions on the two areas? I will be there August 5th and 6th.
Thank you.
Julia
Julia
I did write a bit about our reasons here: http://chezlouloufrance.blogspot.fr/2011/11/saying-au-revoir.html
If my work schedule allows, I would be happy to meet up with you while you're here in August. Why don't you send me an email and we can talk more about it?
louloufrance@gmail.com
What a lovely surprise to see this post! In 2012 my husband and I spent a month in France, and a week of that in Bayeaux. One of our best stories from that trip comes from one of our shopping trips. We were going on a picnic, so stopped at the charcuterie (on rue St. Jean?). After purchasing some saucisson I, in my atrocious-yet-exhuberant French asked where the Fromagerie was. In French, she told me that there wasn't a Fromagerie in Bayeux. Remembering the words of every single French teacher from 7th grade through college "...every little town has it's own Fromagerie, charcuterie, boulangerie..." so I thought that I must have said something incorrectly. I asked again "ou est la fromagerie?" and she again told me that there wasn't a Fromagerie. I was beside myself, so convinced that there simply HAD to be a cheese store there. Finally, the woman who was helping us said something, gestured to us that we should wait, and then disappeared behind a curtain. In a few minutes she appeared with a chunk of some sort of cheese, which she clearly had just taken out of her own fridge, and gave it to us. She charged us something, not much, and wished us a good day. I've often wanted to apologize to her for not believing her. The formagerie is just another reason to visit Bayeux again! (PS while I'm here, I'd like to recommend La Rapierie - great food and great service!)
A. Milkweed
I love that story! I too was told that every little town had a fromagerie and was surprised when we moved to France and discovered that simply wasn't true. I hope La Fromagerie de Bayeux continues to thrive. :)
We loved la Rapière!
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