It all begins here, at an altitude of 2,000 metres.
The production of our cheese is a family affair. Andy, Valentin and Judicaël, not quite the Three Musketeers, but almost, are the three faces behind the cheeses you will find in our restaurant and shop.
Andy and Valentin milk the goats and cows every day. Judicaël transforms this raw milk into farmhouse cheeses, which he then matures on site in our cellar at an altitude of 2,000 metres.
Everything is made here, using our expertise: sérac (fresh cheese made from whey), goat’s milk raclette and cow’s milk raclette, Belleville cheese, goat’s milk tommes and cow’s milk tommes, whole raw milk, yoghurts, flavoured fresh spreadable cheeses, mozzac (sérac reworked into mozzarella using cow’s milk), and more. Discover our farm-made cheeses.
At Pépé Nicolas, we don’t just cook with our products. We raise them, we transform them, we bring them to life!
Milking: a daily ritual with Valentin and Andy
Every day, Valentin and Andy take care of milking our cows and goats. Valentin, the farm manager, is the great-grandson of Pépé Nicolas, with 21 seasons of alpine farming under his belt. He hasn’t missed a summer in the alpine pastures since he was 12 years old. Andy is a shepherd in the summer and has been helping Valentin for several years. See the whole team at Chez Pépé Nicolas.
The timing of milking is crucial, as this is when the fresh milk is collected, ensuring its quality and richness. Milking is carried out with care and respect, ensuring the welfare of our animals. For example, to keep the goats calm during milking, Valentin feeds them a supplement of corn, barley and wheat. Come and see the goats being milked by hand as part of our guided tours.
The goats are milked twice a day, at 4:15 a.m. and then at 3:30 p.m. near the restaurant. Manual milking in the morning yields 45 litres and in the afternoon 35 litres, for a daily total of approximately 90 litres of milk.
Milking the cows is mechanised. Between 420 and 430 litres are collected each day between the morning and evening milking. The 40-litre cans are then carefully carried back up to the chalet where they are stored in the stream overnight to cool and preserve the milk naturally.
Transformation: the art of Judicaël
Once the milk has been collected and cooled from the previous day, it is entrusted to Judicaël, our cheesemaker who joined the team in 2020. He studied at ENIL (National Dairy Industry School) in Doubs and Jura in Franche-Comté, where he is from.
At the fruitière (or traditional mountain cheese dairy), that’s where the magic happens. Judicaël uses traditional techniques to transform milk into cheese. The milk is poured into a large copper cauldron, where it is curdled by adding rennet and lactic ferments to guide the cheese-making process without altering the terroir of its original flora. He then skims the curds to move on to the production stage, with the essential steps of draining and moulding. On average, 10 litres of milk yield 1 kg of cheese.
Maturing: patience as a skill
Maturing is a key stage in the production of our cheese. Our maturing cellar was built in 2018, beneath the restaurant. The spruce shelves were custom-made by our carpenter Jean-Paul Gourgan, using wood from the Roche sur Foron sawmill.
Judicaël adjusts the temperature and humidity conditions to allow the cheese to develop its aromas and texture. This process can take several months, or even several years for our mature cheeses. Thanks to this expertise, each wheel acquires a unique personality that reflects our terroir.
La Meule des Belleville, our speciality, is made on site in our maturing cellar. The process includes curdling, moulding and salting, with each step carried out with particular care to guarantee an authentic flavour. The rind is washed and rubbed with salt water, giving it a fairly soft golden rind. La Meule des Belleville is a mature cheese that Judicaël will keep for up to two years before selling it the following summer in the shop and restaurant.
Cheeses and dairy products from ultra-short supply chains
The pure air and majestic mountain landscapes create the ideal environment for producing authentic cheeses from our cows and goats.
The end result is a 100% homemade cheese that embodies the essence of our farm. You can find all our cheeses in our shop, ready to take home, or directly on your plate at the Chez Pépé Nicolas restaurant and at Le Montagnard, our second restaurant located in the centre of Saint Martin de Belleville.
From milking to the plate, for everyone’s enjoyment!
