A Cheesemonger’s Tour de France HC

Winner of the John Avery Award at the Andre Simon Awards 2024 Charles de Gaulle famously said it was impossible to govern a country with 246 different cheeses. And perhaps he was right. Every French cheese carries an essence of the place where its made - its history, identity and landscape. Sometimes thats a physical thing, as the hard texture of Comte echoes its mountainous home in the Jura. Other times its about power and politics - Brie swelling to royal dimensions due to its proximity to the French court, or Camembert gaining national status after being supplied in patriotic boxes to First World War soldiers. In A Cheesemongers Tour de France, Ned Palmer wends his way around the countrys regions, meeting the remarkable cheesemongers who carry the torch for Frances oldest and most treasured traditions. As he explains the mysteries of terroir and why each of those different fromages taste as they do, he shows that a French cheeseboard offers genuine insights into la Belle Republique.