The Peloton of Taste: A British Cheesemonger Cheese Tour de France
What if we told you that France's most iconic race, the Tour de France, had a twin sibling? As the peloton zigzags through the French countryside this July, let us take you down the cheese route with famous cheesemonger and bestselling author Ned Palmer - one lined with Comté PDO caves and Roquefort PDO cellars. Welcome to A Cheesemonger’s Tour de France, Ned Palmer’s culinary odyssey through French cheese, where every wheel tells a story, deeply rooted in the terroir and the small producers. Here are some of our favourite halts.
Île-de-France - Brie de Meaux PDO, the King of Cheese
We begin just outside Paris, in the lush fields of Brie country. Brie de Meaux PDO, a cheese once declared the "King of Cheese", reigns with its bloomy rind and rich, mushroomy interior. Palmer delves into its royal court, recounting tales of revolution and cheese diplomacy, while giving tasting notes that would make a sommelier blush.
Alsace - Munster and the Mountains of Funk
The peloton climbs and so do we—into the Vosges mountains where Munster cheese, a washed-rind marvel, awaits. Palmer visits the fromager-affineurs who lovingly brush and wash each wheel, telling tales of cheesemaking in misty highlands. Like a climber's grit in the Alps, this cheese demands commitment. Paired with a glass of aromatic Alsace Gewurztraminer PDO? It’s a match made in heaven.
Burgundy - The power of Epoisses
Known for its potent smell, the opulent cheese made in Cote d’Or is washed with the local spirit, the Marc de Bourgogne. The legend has it amongst cheesemongers that it’s illegal to carry it on the Parisian metro, which says it all! Joke aside, it is said to be the favourite of Napoleon with a glass of iconic Chambertin PDO Grand Cru Burgundy wine, his go-to red. Napoleon may not have been known for a refined palate, but his love for Époisses lends the pungent orange wheel imperial prestige.
Jura - Comté PDO classic
Now onto the picturesque Jura, where the air smells of pine trees, and the caves of Comté PDO—an alpine cheese aged with reverence. Palmer likens these aging caves to wine cellars of gold, where wheels mature into symphonies of nuttiness and umami. The perfect partner to Vin Jaune des Côtes du Jura AOC, a very unique local wine—not unlike a fino sherry, yet unfortified.
Midi-Pyrénées - Roquefort PDO, the Blue-Blooded Beauty
Here, Palmer enters what he calls the "blue grotto" of French cheese: Roquefort PDO. Aged in the limestone caves of Combalou, this sheep’s milk blue cheese is a stunner—sharp, salty, and haunting. Like the infamous Pyrenean climbs, Roquefort PDO is not for the faint-hearted and loves nothing more than a ripe French pear to team up on your plate.
Ned Palmer's A Cheesemonger’s Tour de France is a book for those who savour their culture—literally. He writes with the affection of a cheesemonger and the curiosity of a traveler, always inviting us to taste, to ask, to know. So this summer, as the cyclists climb Mont Ventoux and speed down Alpine descents, why not ride alongside them—from your kitchen table.
A Cheesemonger’s Tour de France,
Ned Palmer, £18.99, Profile Books
Contributor
Valentine Benoist
Editor
