This time, a fast auto-route with stunning, mountainous views through part of the French and Italian Alps to the north east of Lyon, straight in and out of the very long Fréjus Tunnel (over 8 miles, to be pretty exact!) and you are in Italy.

At the end of July we journeyed over to our friends, Mike and Pauline Wright, and their grandson, Max, in the little village of Cerré Marabino near Toano, close to the main township of Reggio Emilia, Northern Italy – an hour or so from Milan.

Great mountainous countryside with stunning panoramic views around every corner !

Also very near to Parma, this is a region famous for, of course, parma ham and parmesan cheese. And not far from their village is an amazing, family-run delicatessen, and wine boutique called Ferrarini’s. You just have to go in and fill your wicker basket, which they provide as you go in. It is an ‘Aladdin’s Cave’ of goodies – very difficult to resist ! So, don’t !!

Begun in an ancient villa set in ‘classic’ Italian countryside, among green hills in Reggio Emilia, Ferrarini’s, an historically very succesful family business, was established in 1956, primarily as a speciality cooked ham producer. Now they provide a whole range of high quality Italian products, including  cheeses, preserves, wine, vinegars, and much more, and is a wonderful source of regional delicacies. They are a major group operation now with their own extensive range of branded goods.

Ferrarini’s in Italy

There is no doubt, when in Italy, you eat and drink very well, indeed !

During our few days stay we also went to Mantua, a very attractive medieval city, with a typical Italianesque ‘old empire’ style, with old merchant houses, and a slightly decadent ‘feel’. A beautiful place, full of history, architecture, and some excellent restaurants.
Mantua (Italian: Màntova ) is a city and commune in Lombardy Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua’s historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family made it one of the main artistic, cultural, and notably, musical hubs of Northern Italy and the whole country itself.

Mantua is noted for its significant role in the history of opera and the city is known for its several architectural treasures and artifacts, elegant palaces( palazzi) and its medieval and Renaissance cityscape.

Mantua is surrounded on three sides by artificial lakes created during the 12th century. These receive the waters from the River Mincio which descends from Lake Garda. The three lakes are called Lago Superiore, Lago di Mezzo, and Lago Inferiore.

Well worth a visit !

Our Italian sojourn did not stop there, though. We also managed a short visit to the remarkable town of Carpi.

Another superb historical place in the Emillia-Romagna region of northern Italy, north of Modena city.

Carpi is distinguished by its great piazza, in fact, the largest in the region. Notable landmarks also include the Renaissance town hall, formerly the castle of the Pio family, lords of Carpi from 1319 to 1525; the cathedral (begun 1514), with a Baroque facade (1667); the Romanesque church of St. Maria in Castello, or La Sagra (altered 1515); the former cathedral, with a Romanesque campanile (1217–21).

Our visits to this part of Northern Italy are always a delight, and we just adore the gastronomc pleasures to be found in this beautiful country. We are glad our friends, Mike and Pauline, have chosen to live there, and we are extremely grateful for the opportunity it has given us to see the sights, and enjoy the wonderful cuisine amongst some absolutely stunning countryside. I think we will be putting them in the diary again for next year !!

Ciao!

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And how wonderfully fortunate are we, in the Roannais region of the Rhone-Alpes, to have this Affineur of fine cheeses right on our doorstep.
Many year’s ago we had been pointed in the direction of the Mons Fromagerie in Halles Diderot, a fabulous high quality indoor market in Roanne.
Having been told that they were simply the best place to purchase cheese, not only for quality, but also breadth of choice – they sell a range of over 230 different cheeses throughout the year. and unparalleled expertise.

Today, Maison Mons has 22 people working at its caves in the Roannais, 155 clients in France, and many clients in 19 countries, 130 individual producers in France, 4 cheese shops, and about 190 different cheeses aging throughout the year. ‘Affinage’ cheese aging will always be the heart of the operation.
In 2009 Mons are continuing to expand and are developing a new entity ‘La Compagnie d’Affinage des Caves de la Collogne’, which is unique in its realm. They have recuperated and restored an old train tunnel and transformed it into a cheese aging tunnel.

This project will be completed in July 2009, and will allow Mons to really differentiate their products from the rest with an unprecedented environment and care for all their many cheeses, leaving Maison Mons with an exclusive range of high quality.products.
Maison Mons is always looking forward.

Visit their new website for more information about this excellent establishment, and, of course, where to buy their wide range of top quality cheeses:   Maison Mons

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The Gastronomic Magic of the Roannais!

This is another ongoing ‘mission’ by Purefrancenow to visit, enjoy, assess, describe, and recommend some of the best food and drink products and producers in the beautiful and varied Roannais region of the Rhône-Alpes.

We do this for our own pleasure, but also to help with your choice and understanding of the quality and wide variety of different food and drink produce available when visiting this sensational region of central France, famous for the exceptional quality of its gastronomic delights.

Whether your visit is for business, leisure, or pure indulgence!

There are many things that people generally associate with French gastronomy – wine, bread, cheese, charcuterie, patisserie, and good cooking, for example. But the essence that binds all these products together in France has to be ‘passion’. Pure and simple!

The French enthusiasm for their food and drink is intoxicating, and they are undeniably good at!

We have great pleasure in leading this Roannais food and gastronomy section with a presentation of the remarkable, and internationally successful, Maison Fromagerie Mons.

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The Gastronomic Magic of the Roannais

Gourmet Weekends

The Auvergnat , as Mons was originally named, was founded in 1965 by Hubert and Rolande Mons.

They started by selling on local markets and from a truck selling door to door. Their high quality and constant search for new products quickly won them praise and recognition in the cheese world. As is often the case with successful companies.

From these historic small beginnings a high quality business was born. In the 1980′s when Hervé and Laurent, the sons, started working with their parents the company took great steps forward; with the opening of new stores in les Halles of Roanne, Renaison, Montbrison… and the development of an affinage operation in Saint Haon le Chatel in the Cote Roannaise.

During the 1990′s the company was recognized for its excellence and its know-how, and obtains an agreement to supply the Relais and Châteaux, and Accord Groups.

Fromagerie Mons serves the best restaurants and cheese shops around the world, including some of the royal tables.

A few years ago, the company started fulfilling an international demand : Mons now sells to more than 10 different countries throughout Europe, including the USA and Japan).

Today, The Auvergnat has become Maison Mons – Fromager Affineur, managed by Hervé Mons. After starting under his father training, Hervé went to study with the famous cheesemongers such as Jacques Vernier and Christian Cantin. In 2000 he was awarded Meilleur Ouvrier de France – Best artisan of France, the highest recognition one can achieve in the field of affinage.

In 2002 he receives the title of Best Fromager by the Gastronomic Pudlo Guide. Congrilait, the most important worldwide event of the dairy industry, asked him to organize its 2002 show. The Sirha contacted him for its 2003 International contest of the best cheese board. And this is only a part of his personal and business achievements.

In 2004 he created, with his brother Laurent Mons, a training school Opus Caseus Concept for their customers and other people who want to know more about how cheese is made and its flavour refined.

In 2005 he organised the first International competition Caseus Award, made up of the best cheese makers from 12 countries. In 2006, Maison Mons arrived in the London at the famous Borough Market and created the company Mons UK with a young cheese maker Mr Jonathan Thrupp who has learned the cheese arts with the Maison Mons. Mons also set their feet firmly in Montbrison with the opening of a shop with another of our prodigious students Cedric Lenoir, who took the shop on as a new adventure.

In 2007 we opened the boutique Marechal in the Halles de Lyon, which is run by Etienne Boissy (Meilleur Ouvrier de France 2004) who has been with Maison Mons for many years now.

Most important of all, Hervé Mons travels all over France, searching for the best cheeses, particularly from those farmers who are still using traditional methods of production. Then the cheeses are matured in the Mons caves to develop their aromas and taste.

This is why today, Maison Mons is the official supplier of the best tables around the world and is recognized as the benchmark in specialty cheeses. Maison Mons keeps its roots locally meanwhile recruiting a professional team in each of its shops, and at the same time developing the export market thanks to its extensive range, and unparalleled expertise. Today Maison Mons has 22 people working at its caves in the Roannais, 155 clients in France, and many clients in 19 countries, 130 individual producers in France, 4 cheese shops, and about 190 different cheeses aging throughout the year. Affinage Cheese Aging will always be the heart of the operation.

In 2009 Mons are continuing to expand and are developing a new entity La Compagnie d’Affinage des Caves de la Collogne, which is unique in its realm. They have recuperated and restored an old train tunnel and transformed it into a cheese aging tunnel. This project will be completed in July 2009, and will allow Mons to really differentiate their products from the rest with an unprecedented environment and care for all their many cheeses, leaving Maison Mons with an exclusive range of high quality.products.

Maison Mons is always looking forward.

Purefrancenow Visit and Review

Fromagerie Mons are specialists in the true sense of the word. For this reason they supply all of the ‘top’ restaurants in the area, and beyond. They, in fact, export all over the world – from the USA, UK, Norway, and Australia, to Russia, Japan, China, and Spain. Our, eagerly awaited, recent visit to their headquarters and storage caves in Saint-Haon-le-Châtel in the Roannais, has now added a further dimension to our understanding and love of cheese. It would have been extremely difficult not to share the passion and excitement that exudes from the Co-owner and Director, Laurent Mons, and his Quality Control Manager.

On our arrival at the Fromagerie, we were first greeted, surprisingly, by a youthful, and enthusiastic American, Eric Meredith. We were amazed to learn that he had come to work at Mons only 2 years ago from a cuisine and nutrition background in New York. He is now responsible for Quality Control at Fromagerie Mons. Although now Fluent in French, Eric led us through the various stages of cheese affination (the development, nurturing, and flavour refinement of cheeses brought in from 110 small farm producers) in English – which we much appreciated. It would have been tragic to miss out on any snippets of the deluge of information that was fired confidently, and concisely, in our direction. ‘Passion’ seems too subtle a word to describe Eric’s love and understanding of the whole cheese process. He really does live and breath his work. He is totally dedicated. It is a vocation, not just a job! To achieve the continued quality for which Fromagerie Mons is reputed this is the only way.

From regular liaison with the many suppliers to hands-on nurturing of the varying types of cheese, Eric’s knowledge is outstanding. He treats each cheese (in fact, each batch) individually, regulating temperature, humidity, position within the different caves, whether the cheese should be kept wrapped or unwrapped (and if so, what in), and on what the cheese should rest – great slabs of wood, or straw matting. All in the name of quality of taste refinement! Eric understands the nuances of the chemical processes that create, ripen, and develop cheese. He is a true connoisseur. An intelligent, scientific approach, but with enormous passion and dedication to the art of affinage (refining of a cheese) After our superb tour we visited Laurent Mons in the board room. He is ‘fired’ by the love of not only his cheeses, and his historic family business, but also of the Roannais region, full of its many gastronomic delights. Rarely have I found in the UK such true adoration of a business. Fromagerie Mons is exceptional. A successful, entrepreneurial, family-run company.

www.purefrancenow.com

Also visit our other Purefrancenow Reviews on Maison Mons:

Maison Mons, Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse

Maison Mons, Les Halles Diderot, Roanne

Gastronomic Magic of the Roannais! – Maison Mons - A special ‘Food and Drink’ section about the delights of the Roannais.

Recent success by the Roannais region’s most celebrated and renowned refiner of French cheeses, Fromagerie Mons, has added another dimension to this region’s impeccable reputation for quality produce and style of gastronomy.

This remarkable achievement by Fromagerie Mons comes after much investment, development, commitment, care, and extreme hard work.

Fromagerie Mons is a quality, family establishment with a long, successful history behind it.

Now, Fromagerie Mons has fulfilled their ‘American Dream’ to develop an opportunity for a broad sales and distribution of their refined cheeses throughout the states, via Nurray’s of New York.

Over the years Fromagerie Mons, based in the little village of Saint-Haon le Châtel, in the Cote Roannaise, has successfully put in place a perfectly ‘refined’ export strategy for its products. Henceforth, up to 80% of its sales activities involve 19 different countries, with 30% in the USA.

Hervé Mons remembers that it seems a long time ago that the Mons business was given opportunities, and supported, by the best restaurateurs in the Rhône-Alpes. Mons is forever grateful that renowned international chefs such as Michel Troisgros have understood and assisted Fromagerie Mons’ entrée into international markets through the promotion of French gastronomy – first in Stockholm in 1989, then throughout Scandinavia, followed by Germany, Italy, and onward with more countries throughout the world!

Hervé Mons says that it was in the Piémont in Bra, shrine to the famous Italian truffle, that the American ‘Adventure’ truly began. “The Americans that were sourcing in Europe came to see me”, remembers Hervé, “We quickly worked for one of their shops in New York, and when you are in New York you have an opening to the entire world!”

Today, Fromagerie Mons fulfil 78% of their business with export (6.2 million euros in 2008).

One of the main keys to their success is their determination to ‘understand’ the needs of their clients, and to ensure the quality of product is of the highest standard.

Fromagerie Mons now works with Nurray’s in New York, and is starting to sell and promote a selection of Mons cheese products through its shops – “All Food Market”.

There are 266 of these stores throughout America. The objective for Fromagerie Mons is to be sold in all these shops over the next 3 years.

Fromagerie Mons has an excellent, knowledgeable, and professional team at their base in Saint Haon, particularly with Eric Meredith, responsible for quality, who is an American originally from Boston. In their American endeavours they are also assisted by Jedd Adair, a citizen of Nevada, who will be responsible for exploiting and developing the American market, and Laure Dubouloz, in charge of the US dossier.

A huge cellar for cheese ‘affinage’ in an old tunnel in the village of Ambierle in the Roannais, Rhône-Alpes.

Obviously, to help support the widening of their international market with success in America Fromagerie Mons is developing their business further with the opening of a large storage cellar in Ambierle, and the investment of over 2.5 million euros over the next 5 years.

Hervé Mons, and his brother Laurent, know that the true base of success rests entirely on the irreproachable quality of the Mons product. Their business is now set on a path of long-term development, and at the start of 2009, they have already ear-marked 500,000 euros of investment in the development of a huge, old railway tunnel in Ambierle into an immense ‘affinage’ cellar – 180 metres long!

So, long may their success continue! Congratulations and best wishes to Mons!

Fromagerie Mons by purefrancenow – News and Reviews

Visit www.purefrancenow.com for more information on the Roannais – its food, wine, cheeses, restaurants, and much, much more!

There are many things that we Brits generally associate with the French – wine, bread, cheese, for example.

But the essence that binds these products all together has to be ‘passion’

The French are passionate about everything! Never more so than with their cheeses, and if there is one extremely successful, family-run business that exemplifies this then it has to be ‘Fromagerie Mons’.

And how wonderfully fortunate are we, in the Roannais region of the Rhone-Alpes,  to have this ‘Affineur’ of fine cheeses right on our doorstep.

Many year’s ago we had been pointed in the direction of the Mons Fromagerie in ‘Halles Diderot’, a fabulous high quality indoor market  in Roanne. Having been told that they were simply the best place to purchase cheese, not only for quality, but also breadth of choice – they sell a range of over 230 different cheeses throughout the year.

Fromagerie Mons are specialists in the true sense of the word. For this reason they supply all of the ‘top’ restaurants in the area, and beyond. They, in fact, export all over the world – from the USA, UK, Norway, and Australia, to Russia, Japan, China, and Spain.

Our, eagerly awaited, recent visit to their headquarters and storage caves in Saint-Haon-le-Châtel in the Roannais, has now added a further dimension to our understanding and love of cheese.

It would have been extremely difficult not to share the passion and excitement that exudes from the Managing Director, Laurent Mons, and his Quality Control Manager.

On arrival at the Fromagerie, we were first greeted, surprisingly, by a youthful, and enthusiastic American, Eric Meredith. We were amazed to hearn that he had come to work at Mons only 2 years ago from a cuisine and nutrition background in New York. He is now responsible for Quality Control at  Fromagerie Mons.

Although now Fluent in French, Eric led us through the various stages of cheese affination (the development, nurturing, and flavour refinement of cheeses brought in from 110 small farm producers) in English – which we much appreciated.

It would have been tragic to miss out on any snippets of the deluge of information that was fired confidently, and concisely, in our direction.

‘Passion’ seems too subtle a word to describe Eric’s love and understanding of the whole cheese process. He really does live and breath his work. He is totally dedicated. It is a vocation, not just a job! To achieve the continued quality for which Fromagerie Mons is reputed this is the only way.

From regular liaison with the many suppliers to hands-on nurturing of the varying types of cheese, Eric’s knowledge is outstanding. He treats each cheese ( in fact, each batch) individually, regulating temperature, humidity, position within the different caves, whether the cheese should be kept wrapped or unwrapped (and if so, what in), and on what the cheese should rest – great slabs of wood, or straw matting. All in the name of quality of taste refinement!

Eric understands the nuances of the chemical processes that create, ripen, and develop cheese. He is a true connoisseur. An intelligent, scientific approach, but with enormous passion and dedication to the art of ‘affinage’ (refining of a cheese)

After our superb tour we visited Laurent Mons in his board room. He is ‘fired’ by the love of not only his cheeses, and his historic family business, but also of the Roannais region, full of its many gastronomic delights.

Rarely have I found in the UK such true adoration of a business. Fromagerie Mons is exceptional. A successful, entrepreneurial, family-run company.

Also visit our other Purefrancenow Reviews:  Fromagerie Mons, Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse

Fromagerie Mons, Les Halles Diderot, Roanne Fromagerie Mons, Roanne Table Ouverte

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