(56) Anew …

Some of you might know that I have recently moved from London to a small town at the foothills of the Alps in France.

I got back to my home country after having spent almost thirty-five years in London and two in Switzerland before. I had to get a new car, after all this was my only opportunity to get a new car in my life, and I could not do anything else than to have a car. I selected a full hybrid, because I believe in trying not to pollute too much even though we are talking about a car, however there is no other valid option which would have worked where I live now.

So, I had to move (and you can read post (54) for my thoughts about that which are quite edifying!), I had to wait for a month to get my stuff in France, I had to pay about five times the quote given by the moving company, and now I have to wait for this company to pay me back half the worth of the lost item. Yes, they lost a very good computer screen which was packaged in its original box (maybe a bit tempting?), and I had to make two truthful comments on the web for the company to wake up to fact that they had not dealt with the problem, still…

This is where I now work, at the foothills of the Alps

My new apartment was the best deal that I could find, and everything went smoothly as to its acquisition. I still had to stay in a hotel for ten days before I signed for it, and I organised a nice rental car to get me going. All was fine on that side. I even managed to check a few items that I knew I had to buy back after my disastrous move (and me having to leave behind quite a few very good items but large and heavy which would have made the move even more costly). I was still thinking London way, and I had a bit of money and time. I found a nice restaurant and went to Le Bourget Lake as well, even if it was raining that day, this was fun. Then I got the apartment, and I had to give back the rental. My new car took some time to arrive, it was August, and this month in France is when most of the administration, of any kind, take their holidays and the country slows down, so, I waited for about two extra weeks.

I had the good surprise to have my brother come and visit me at that time with two of his children. We spent some good quality time, and I really enjoyed that. I started to plan for the refection of my flat, I went a bit far maybe and did not think too much of the cost, I wanted to see what would be possible, and I contacted a company who deal with this kind of things. Once again, the month of August proved to be problematic, and I had to contact this company again at the beginning of September to plan for a meeting. The project manager is charming and efficient, and I realised quickly that it would cost me dearly to have the flat as I wanted. So, on that score, I have to see what he thinks and what would be the cost compared to what I can afford realistically to decide what I will do. But at least I will do a few things; after all double-glazed French doors are the very strict minimum at the foothill of the Alps!

I wanted to come back to France for some time. Only because I am not too young anymore and if I want to retire, I really expect to do so somewhere in France. So, here I am, here I stay. I had the chance to talk to my old boss in London, who by the way is now the CEO of the company, and express my wish to move about two years ago. He kindly said that he would help if possible, and this was decided by the end of last year. I am now working in one of his dairies, and I prepare the diverse orders (with lots of boxes to be made) with two other people. I never worked in any kind of environment that I would classify as similar before. But the biggest challenge is my co-worker who is kind of disingenuous. She seems to crave attention and is attracted to people in better positions, and there I will not go any further.

So, I have my car, I have my flat, I have a job, and I am discovering life in France again, rural France as well. I will not talk about having to register again to all the administrative diverse departments, as I believe that everywhere it is the same anyway. Like in catering, a chef is a chef, is a chef, is a chef, and nothing will change that! I still have to deal with a few things London side, but this should be dealt with on its own time, I just have to wait for it to happen.

It is nice to see mountains, to see nature every day, not to look for green space but to be in the middle of the green nature with nice trees, and birds. Yes, it can be a bit frisky in the morning, but there are still some very good days with nice temperatures in the afternoon even at the end of September – early October. It is a bit of town in the countryside, and it is very nice, it lifts your spirit whenever you need it.

Some of you might know that I like cheese, and have done so since I was rather little, it was one of the good things that my mother did to me. But enough about me, cheese is good when well made (like everything else I guess!).

I have recently seen someone happy about his Franch cheese map, and good for him. However, you will never get all of the French cheeses on a map, I know I have seen people try. It will always be suggestive however you look at it. There are so many different style and look for cheese.

And this is the beauty of this wonder stuff, there is always something to appreciate, something new, something old (to you at least), and a bit of something strange. On this last point I am quite inclined to appreciate the out of norm products, and this was brought to my attention when talking to the manager of the dairy where I work. We were exchanging ideas about some cheeses that are available in the shop, and about some cheeses that are coming into season.

The obvious is the Vacherin du Haut Doubt or Mont d’Or, always delicious when matured a bit or as now fashionable, made hot with herbs and spice in the oven with potatoes and cured meat. And then, you have a bit of a rarity which is the Tome au marc or the Arôme aux gènes de Marc. The first is large and the second is a small cheese the size if a Picodon but made with cow’s milk. The particularity of these is the extra bit, slightly crunchy, which comes from grapes which have been used to make wine and are coating the cheese. Of course, this changes slightly the original flavour of the product but without empowering too much and only a very slight touch of residual alcohol with the dry used grapes sticking to the rind giving the cheese an unforgettable look.

Now, be ready to pre-order these cheeses if you want any as they are made in small quantities, but as something original and very traditional ( and you could add GREEN as they recycle the old grapes ) you will be privileged to taste something very special, and a bit made just for you as well…

For the people looking for something spicy, you could choose to taste a Boulette d’Avesnes as well. It is made from a Maroilles mixed with tarragon and covered with paprika at the base, so you might want a strong beverage with it, but I leave that up to you.

There is always something interesting about cheese to find, and for the people interested I have one question:

Which traditional French cheese have been approved by NASA?

The answer will be given next time. In the meantime, go and look for something good (and traditional preferably well made), do not hesitate to ask your local cheesemonger who will be happy to oblige your fancy. So, open your palate and mind, and let’s celebrate quality cheeses.

P.S.: I still have my website running (https://www.cheesefromage.com/), it is dedicated to help catering professional with the service of cheese. You will find other information as well, all relative to cheese, like taste, cheese serving, and descriptions of different products of high quality readily available throughout the world (or at least it should be).