‘Cutting the Cheese’ and French Food Etiquette for your Southern France Tour
The Barefoot Blogger stumbles through France with little knowledge of the country or the language. That’s why I’m so excited that Nancy McGee, a gourmet guru and friend from Sete, will add some culture to my blog, starting with French Food Etiquette for “Cheese.”
Nancy and I met through AIRBNB during my first visit to Sete, France. She hosts guests in her fabulous apartment, which is right on the waterway. We became instant friends.
On the many trips I’ve made to Sete, it has been to attend various functions with Nancy and her friends. A Canadian who has lived in France for the last 30 years, Nancy is literally in the middle of everything in Sète. In fact, it’s her business. She is the founder of Absolutely Southern France, a unique travel company specializing in offering travelers to the south of France one-of-a-kind travel experiences.
Now that Nancy has agreed to author occasional posts for the Barefoot Blogger, you and I can take advantage of her knowledge of French cuisine, destinations, and food etiquette.
Let’s learn about ‘Cutting the Cheese’ – French style.
Cheese Etiquette – Roquefort – by Nancy McGee
Shortly after arriving in France, I was invited as a guest of honor at an eight-night dinner party. I was flattered but also somewhat apprehensive as to the correct protocol. And so I dusted off my French etiquette book, which advised simply following the host’s lead. It made perfect sense and worked well – up to a point! Imagine my horror when I was the first to be invited to serve myself from the cheese platter. A selection of cheeses in all shapes and sizes, some familiar, others perfect strangers, confronted me.
Sitting imperiously in the center of the platter, the famed Roquefort, it had the air of just waiting for me to commit an error!. Numerous questions presented themselves: should I cut a piece from just one cheese or from several, and what size should it be? To be fair, I tried mentally dividing the cheeses into equal parts for the seven other guests, who, by this time, were wondering if I would ever pass the platter around!
Now, after over 30 years in France and numerous dinner parties, I recommend this approach when confronted with a similar dilemma: take what you can! That platter may not return to you, and your favorite cheese might be gone even if it does. So go for it the first time around! There is only one totally unacceptable error: to take an entire piece of cheese. One other helpful tip: if you are the host, you should serve yourself last.
That is not quite the end of your troubles, however. Let us return to the Roquefort – the ‘cheese of kings and popes’ and a reputed favorite of Emperor Charlemagne. No self-respecting cheese platter in France would be without it, but beware – it demands respect and is full of hazards for the unwary! Oh, la…
First, a word about Roquefort. This creamy white cheese is made with sheep’s milk and injected with mold from rye bread to produce blue veins. It is then rolled in coarse salt and stored in caves in the village of Roquefort for three months. Roquefort is situated at the base of a cliff that shifted long ago, creating crevasses that the cheesemakers now utilize as cellars. Temperatures in the cellars are maintained at 8 to 10 degrees year-round, and 80 percent humidity provides the perfect conditions for producing the cheese.
Now, let’s get back to enjoying Roquefort cheese and how to avoid the two most common mistakes.
First, never serve yourself the creamy blue edge in the middle. That would be considered bad manners since it is the best part. (I don’t know if this is true, but my cheese merchant told me that men are the worst offenders!)
The second mistake is to vertically cut a piece from top to bottom – it isn’t fair to other guests! The person after you will get the outer slice with the mostly salty crust, while the person with the slice in the middle will have the best creamy part with the tasty mold. The proper way to cut Roquefort cheese is from the center outwards toward the rind (i.e. in the shape of a triangle),
Roquefort is just an hour’s drive from Montpellier and Sète, and all the Roquefort cheese in the entire world comes from this tiny village. Once, there were 30 producers, and today, there are just 7.
Stay tuned for more!
