LoveKerry Alaric CheeseboroFrench Cheese BoardLa Maison du Fromage, French Cheese Board, FCB, the French Cheese Board, French, cheese, variety, boutique, blue cheese, mimolette, french culture, culture, international, european, soho, Soho, Ich&Kar, Helena Ichbiah, fromage, homage, concept store, concept, store, showcase, cheesemaking, process, cow, goat, ewe, soft, rind, pressed, cooked, bloomy, washed, fresh, melted, draining, curdling, milking, ripening, sourcingComment

An Homage To Fromage

LoveKerry Alaric CheeseboroFrench Cheese BoardLa Maison du Fromage, French Cheese Board, FCB, the French Cheese Board, French, cheese, variety, boutique, blue cheese, mimolette, french culture, culture, international, european, soho, Soho, Ich&Kar, Helena Ichbiah, fromage, homage, concept store, concept, store, showcase, cheesemaking, process, cow, goat, ewe, soft, rind, pressed, cooked, bloomy, washed, fresh, melted, draining, curdling, milking, ripening, sourcingComment
An Homage To Fromage
 

Soho, NYC — As a passioned and ever curious epicure, I have been disappointed by the general dearth of knowledge and appreciation for the great many varieties of cheese — cheeses.

And even with the spike in interest in all things macaroni & cheese and grilled cheese over the last 5 years or so, those dishes —whether the featured restaurant cuisine or a home cook's creative culinary spin — some to still only select from the common pool of about 8 or 10 popular cheeses.

And almost always in those cooking iterations, the cheese itself takes a back seat to an number of other ingredients, such as bacon, fried chicken, loads of mushroom and onions, lobster meat, you name it.

So very excited I was to get an invitation to the opening party of La Maison du Fromage (the French Cheese Board), where, right in the invite's copy, the French Cheese Board welcomed invitees to come down to Soho and immerse themselves not just in the library of French cheese, but in the culture, lifestyle, acumen, and love of French cheese itself.

The brand new shop just opened, broadening the boutique concept to also include offering cheese-making, presentation, and service instruction, as well as being a cheese and cultural database, event venue, retail (cheese, jams, supplies) store, and even an art space (as seen above).

The look of the boutique's exterior and interior is courtesy of a French duo know as Ich&Kar who have specialized in graphic design and branding identity for over 20 years.

French Cheese Board

Helena Ichbiah of Ich&Kar

The design seems to serve several purposes, as it is of course engaging to the eye; bold, modern imagery against black. But it is also informative, educating in-store patrons on points of cheese provenance (by province), cheese variety, cheese origins, and cheese service.

“Our store represents a new space for us to support our consumer-first approach and drive authenticity and innovation around the French industry’s offerings and ideals.”
— Laurent Damiens, Head of Communications for the French Cheese Board

Mainly, and rightfully so, FCB is presented as a mecca — a museum, if you will — of French cheese, and the culture that derived it and maintains it. Here, one can not only expand their (usually limited) knowledge of cheese, but addend it as well with the varietal permutations of one of the globally popular delicacy, discovering the nuances of cheese-making procedures — like milk sourcing, curdling, inoculation, piercing, etc. — make, and why this difference in cheese properties makes a difference and informs the quality of cheese most people still take for granted

Of course there is cheese to buy. Maybe not all 1000+ varieties, but a representative selection of 10 or so that changes seasonally, each bearing their own description card for better educate the grateful consumer.

 
 

Within the short hour I enjoyed the event, I learned that I prefer a bloomy rinded soft cheese over a washed rind, the differences between pressed and cooked cheeses, and that there is such a wonderful thing as crême de brie melted cheese that I can't wait to buy and put on a lot of things for the rest of my life.

And if that wasn't enough, the store also sells other fine foods as well, showcasing Hedene French honeys and L'Epicrean confits and chutneys.

I was so distracted by the exciting possibilities of a theoretical-yet-real French cheese "central" just downtown from me in Soho, that I left the growing party crowd completing forgetting to secure some of the fine cheeses for myself. Yet the crowd I left seem happy, cordial, interested, and very supportive. 

In their own language:
"French Cheese Board has for mission to create awareness about the variety of cheeses from France available on the US market and the multiple ways that American consumers can incorporate them into their diets, recipes and lifestyles. It provides a platform for information, communication and exchange of ideas between French cheesemakers, researchers of the French dairy sector, artists, designers and chefs. French Cheese Board invites all of them to work together on projects related to French cheese and the nutrition of today and tomorrow."

I welcome this "cheese concept store" to New York City à bras ouverts, as, it seems, everyone else in attendance. A lot of love obviously went into not just coming up with — and seeing the great need for — the idea of a French cheese "emporium", but into executing it so that patrons and visitors can accessibly appreciate that love, wallow in it, learn more about it, and — if they remember — walk out with a chuck of that aromatic and delicious love themselves.

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FRENCH CHEESE BOARD | 41 Spring St, New York, NY 10012 | 212.302.3390 | info@frenchcheeseboard.com