During our visit to the SIRHA food trade show in Lyon, we recently paid a visit to our cheese supplier Paccard. The family business with 12 employees is based near the picturesque village of Manigod in Haute-Savoie, which can be reached by car via winding roads.
Although we had not registered, the owner Jean-François Paccard took a lot of time for us. For an hour, he guided us through all the aging cellars and showed us the various other departments where the very fresh cheeses are delivered or prepared for shipping. The crowning finale was a tasting of various cheeses, for which we were given a glass of Crémant de Savoie to celebrate the day – Philippe had a birthday.
But let's start from the beginning: the fromagerie Paccard is located in the heart of the "vallée des Aravis" at about 1,000 meters above sea level. The company was founded in 1990 by Joseph Paccard. Today it is run by his two sons Jean-François and Bertrand. In a four-story traditional wooden house, which is so cleverly nestled into the hillside that each floor has its own access, all the cheeses of Savoie are aged and sold: Reblochon, Tomme and Tommette, Chevrotin, Abondance, Beaufort and many others. The Paccards source the fresh cheeses from around 30 farmers from the vallée de Thônes and from small artisanal dairies in Haute-Savoie, which deliver their curds every day.
With the conscious decision to support small producers, the Paccards contribute to strengthening the local economy in the region. In addition, the heat from the refrigeration units is used to produce hot water, and throughout the entire process of affinage and equipment maintenance, no chemical cleaning or disinfectants are used.
This attention to detail at all levels pays off: since Paccard first participated in the nationwide competition for food producers in France, the Concours Général Agricole de Paris, in 1993, their cheeses have been awarded multiple times and regularly. To date, Paccard has a total of 15 gold medals, 11 silver medals, and 6 bronze medals for Reblochon, Chevrotin, and Abondance.
The affinage of Reblochon, Chevrotin, and Manigodine takes place on the second floor of the house in three consecutive aging cellars, which all these cheeses pass through one after the other. Here they lie on special pine cheese boards in an atmosphere that varies depending on the stage. In the first chamber with high humidity, they stay for around 7 to 10 days and are washed there a total of 2 times with a solution of water and annatto. There is no generally applicable rule according to which, for example, all cheeses from shelf 2, board 5 would be ripe for relocation to the second chamber after X days. Instead, each cheese is inspected and assessed individually every day – this dedication and patience, among other things, is what characterizes true traditional craftsmanship.
The cheeses come to the second, slightly drier room when they no longer lose moisture. Here they continue to age, but are not washed again. In the third room, there is again a more humid atmosphere. This reintroduces moisture to the cheese so that it becomes beautifully melty on the inside.
The Manigodine (a kind of larger Reblochon, which was originally intended for export to the USA and Canada and only comes to market after 60 days of aging) and the Chevrotin (a kind of small goat Reblochon) are stored together with the Reblochons.
The Manigodine is washed a total of 6 times, the Chevrotin 2 times. All cheeses are turned daily. This is done so that the moisture is evenly distributed and the cheeses do not stick to the board.
One floor below, hard cheeses such as Abondance, Beaufort, etc., and the Tommes and Tommettes are aged. Here it smells strongly of ammonia. This is a side effect of the decomposition of milk proteins, which takes place in every cheese, but becomes noticeable more or less clearly. After a few initial startled and tentative breaths, during which you almost lose your breath, you quickly get used to the smell.
After the tour of the cheese cellars, Jean-François also showed us the rather logistical area where the cheese is prepared for shipping and export.
And then we went into a kind of "good room" with a beautiful view of the valley, where we were able to taste a few cheeses as the crowning finale of the visit: two Reblochons from different producers, a Manigodine, a goat raclette, a Tommette de brebis (sheep), and a Persillé de Tignes made from goat and cow milk.
Jean-François specially opened a bottle of Crémant de Savoie for us, and we enjoyed it. All the cheeses were fantastic, although the goat raclette tasted a bit bland. As so often happens when something is really, really good, all conversation suddenly fell silent, giving way to a savoring silence.
Feeling invigorated, we set off on our return journey, carrying with us many lasting impressions and the idea of organizing a "Journée Savoyarde" in the fall. When the time comes, we will of course keep you updated.
Merci, Jean-François Paccard et à bientôt en Savoie ou à Berlin!
- - -
At our shop, you can get the following delicious cheeses from the fromagerie Paccard: Abondance, Beaufort and Reblochon.
