Where to Buy Cheese in Paris

I'm really not trying to show favoritism, but after spending a week at the award winning Fromagerie Laurent Dubois in Paris in December, getting to know the owners, staff and incredible array of mouth-watering cheeses while working both in the front of house and down in the caves d'affinage, I feel like I should have an opinion about the place.

And I can tell you in all honesty that Monsieur and Madame Dubois and the staff at both of their shops are incredibly passionate and quite happy to share their knowledge with you, whether it be helping you to select a small wedge of perfectly aged Comté to enjoy on your own, or by putting together an entire cheese board for you to share with your guests.

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La Fête du Fromage - March Round Up

A trio of cheeses that I've never tried (nor even heard of!) were presented by my fellow cheese tasters for March's Fête du Fromage International Cheese Tasting Event.


Camille, writer of the delicious Paris based blog Croque-Camille, took a little trip to the 18th arrondissement to check out my favorite Parisian fromagerie, Chez Virginie. She came home with Petit Gaugry, which Camille says tastes like a tiny époisses and describes as "cheese bliss." Can't wait to try this one!

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Susan of Savoring Time in the Kitchen tried Fontiago, a blend of Fontina and Asiago cheeses from Wisconsin which she baked into scrumptious looking Crostini with Sun-Dried Tomatoes. Susan never fails to inspire me with her recipes.

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Nathalie wrote about an Italian cow's milk cheese, Caciocavallo, on her site Spaced Out Ramblings. The young version is soft and buttery and the older cheese (pictured below), "becomes hard and crumbly...and develops a very tangy taste and is not for the faint hearted." Both versions sound delicious!

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One of the best cheeses I've tasted is this ewe's milk cheese with the funny name, Pigouille des Charentes. It is an exquisite, rustic cheese with well balanced, salty and sweet flavors that I recommend very highly.

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Thanks again to all of you for your Fête du Fromage entries.
Hope to see both my established cheese tasters and some new faces in April!

Tell us why you chose this particular cheese. Tell us how it tasted. Tell us about its texture and aroma. Did you eat it on its own? Or with something? Did you drink anything special with your cheese? Would you recommend it or not? Is there something unusual or interesting about it?

• Photos are wonderful, but not necessary
• Entries must contain the words La Fête du Fromage and contain a link to Chez Loulou
• Posts should be written specifically for La Fête du Fromage and not entered in any other food blog event
• Please send the link to your post to louloufrance (at) gmail (dot) com with the words Fête du Fromage in the subject line

Please have your entries to me by April 13. The entire round-up will be posted on April 15.

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Paris Insider Information

Thanks to one of the wittiest food writers I know and an all-around, really nice guy (who I am forever indebted to for turning me on to Korean food), I recently found myself included in some very impressive company.
Company like Susan Loomis. And Clotilde Dusoulier, Dorie Greenspan and Rosa Jackson. And my fellow cheese lover, Camille Malmquist.

David wrote to me at the end of February, asking for a cheese shop recommendation in Paris. It was a tough choice, and obviously I didn't have the chance to visit them all in the four splendid days I spent in Paris last autumn, but out of the few that I did visit, Chez Virginie in the 18th arrondissement was my favorite.

Monsieur Lebovitz has compiled a list of favorites that includes tempting food spots and tantalizing insider information from chefs and writers who live in Paris (and in France).
If you're visiting the City of Light in the near future you couldn't ask for better advice! Pin It

Photo du Jour - Camembert de Normandie

Beautiful boxes of unpasteurized Camembert de Normadie in the window of Chez Virginie in Paris. Pin It

Photo du Jour - Salers

A tower of succulent Salers in the window of Chez Virginie. Pin It

Perfect Paris - Day 1

There wasn't a single arrondissement I didn't eat in, wander through, sip a coffee in or shop in.

The fact that I had four beautiful, sunny, warm days in Paris, just at the cusp of the autumn equinox, well...I consider that pretty near perfect.


The train pulled into the Gare de Lyon at 9:45 AM and I was full of energy and ready to go after a 1½ hour nap on the train from Béziers. Several minutes on Metro line 14 brought me to the Gare St. Lazare where I transferred to line 13 and another few stops brought me to my friend's apartment where a cup of hot, greatly appreciated coffee was waiting for me.
After dumping my bags, catching up and a quick lunch of homemade Thai curry, we secured her 6 month old son, le petit, in his backpack and took off to enjoy the weather and to find the first of many, many cheese shops on my list.

Heading across into the 18th, we found the fromagerie Chez Virginie easily, only to find it closed until 4 PM.
As we were just on the edge of the winding, charming streets of Montmartre with its memorable church of Sacré-Coeur, perched on the top of the hill like a snowy white wedding cake topper, so we dove straight in to explore.

We found the tiny, peaceful cemetery of Saint Vincent down a little lane. It's full of intriguing looking tombs and beautiful flowers and trees everywhere. Several people were sitting on benches, picnicking and soaking up the sun.


We didn't climb up the famous rue des Abbesses and rue Lepic (we explored them on my last trip to Paris), rather skirted around the bottom of the hill, window shopped and enjoyed some time in a café until Chez Virginie reopened.
It was a cheese lover's paradise. Honestly.
(But then again, Paris in general is a cheese lover's paradise!)


Fromagerie Chez Virginie
54 rue Damrémont
75018 Paris

Dinner at a friend's was planned for the evening and our feet were screaming at us by now, so I finished up my oohing and aahing over the marvelous array of cheeses, made my purchases and we went home to rest.

The dinner invitation came over the summer from our French neighbors, one of which is from the village, who have renovated an old winemakers barn into their holiday home. When they found out I was going to Paris I was kindly invited to join them for dinner. The evening was a great mix of 3 Americans and 5 French, delicious food, cheese and wine and of course, discussions about American politics.
Our French friend told me he has been donating money to Obama's campaign. Bravo!


A quick cab ride at midnight and we were home. I needed sleep to prepare for another day. Pin It