Mons: the art of affining cheese

Today, Hervè Mons is undoubtedly one of the most dynamic and respectedmaître fromager. In 1983, following several years of working with the best Parisian cheesemakers, Hervé Mons returned to Roanne, a small town not far from Lyon where his parents have been selling cheeses since the 1960s. It was here that he opened his first shop and the affining cellars of Saint-Haon-le-Châtel dedicated to this day to the affining of chèvre and soft cheeses. Mons has always represented the link between the producer - committed to the creation of a worthy fresh ingredient - and the consumer able to recognise a cheese’s great gastronomic and cultural value. The attentive care given to the cheeses throughout the entire ageing process and the great respect for their qualities have ensured that Mons is now an internationally-renowned affiner. His work as a fermier cheese selector has expanded considerably over the years to the point that he currently counts and stores hundreds of cheeses in his ageing cellars. In 2009, he converted an old railway tunnel into an extraordinary affinement cellar for hard cheese, the Tunnel de la Collonge, in which the great French gruyeres ofComté, Beaufort and Abondanceare matured. Hervé Mons reputation and mastery has been acknowledged by the awarding of the prestigious title of MeilleurOuvrier de France in 2000.