Around France in 101 cheeses with cheese master Gerard Poulard

I must have been French in a former life because I can happily subsist on crusty bread and cheese. Like Anatole, the adorable mouse character in my daughter’s children’s book, I wouldn’t mind working in a French cheese factory as a taster.

Someone who has this dream job for real is Gérard Poulard, a Maître Fromagier, or cheese master, from Paris. To celebrate the upcoming Bastille Day, Sofitel Philippine Plaza has flown Poulard in for its  “J’Adore Le Fromage (I adore cheese)” promotion from now till July 13 at buffet outlet Spiral.

“Since Spiral opened last November, the biggest attraction has been undoubtedly been the L’Epicerie, or cheese room, which was never before seen in Manila,” says Sofitel Philippine Plaza general manager Adam Laker.  “Since then, the consumption of our cheese has been growing and growing until it reached one ton per month.  It just shows that Filipinos today have acquired the taste and also love cheese.”

As part of the promotion, cheese and wine classes are in the offing, but the highlight of the festival is Poulard and his collection of 101 cheeses, culled from France’s best premium and artisan producers. Poulard travels to their farms, gauges their product, and selects the best according to the region and the season. Like wine, you can taste the terroir of a region in its cheese: “Milk has a different taste per season,” Poulard says. “Cows in the mountains eating fresh grass could mean a good season for some cheese.”

Sofitel spent over a million pesos to fly in these cheeses from France. “So that’s one million for 101 types of cheeses, over 250 kilos and with one ton cheese consumption per month,” Laker notes.

Asking cheese master Poulard to name a favorite cheese is like asking a mother to choose among her children, but he gamely lists a few: Bouchon aux Sarments d’Amour, a goat cheese on a stick (actually a grapevine twig) with the rich texture of New York cheesecake; Banon, a creamier goat’s-milk cheese from Provence wrapped in a chestnut leaf; Coulommiers Suzerain, a soft, uncooked cheese aged in caves with a taste and texture akin to Brie; and Comté, a hard aged cheese that’s one of the most popular in France, although the national bestseller is still Camembert.

“There’s a predominance of goat cheese right now because it’s in season,” says Sofitel’s executive chef Eric Costille. “Cheese has summer and winter collections like fashion.”

All 101 cheeses are available for tasting as part of Spiral’s buffet menu, and they’re best paired with wines, as Spiral’s operations manager Tanguy Gras did for the press lunch. He matched a soft, mild Brie with a moderately strong Clarendelle Bordeaux rouge and round Hebrard Bordeaux rouge; a Fourme D’Ambert blue cheese with a sweet Coteaux du Layon; and a dry Crottin de Chavignol goat cheese with lightly fruity Hebrard Bordeaux Blanc and Aix Rosé (Coteaux d’Aix en Provence).

“There’s really no ‘right’ combination; it’s a matter of taste,” Gras says. “My favorite combination is to have a balance — a strong cheese paired with a sweet wine.”

Poulard adds that when you’re doing a cheese tasting it’s best to start with the mild cheeses before proceeding to the strong so you don’t immediately alter your palate.

His job as a fromagier is similar to that of a sommelier’s with wine — going around the world to explain the culture of French cheeses. “Michelin chefs buy cheeses from a fromagier,” he notes with pride. He scoffs at Emmental (“I don’t have it because it’s like a condiment — it’s used for cooking,” and cites Roquefort as the most expensive because it’s made from rarer sheep’s milk.

The trend in France now is sourcing cheese from smaller, boutique producers as well as the big manufacturers, and the implementation of stricter controls, with cheese now regulated with AOCs (Appellation d’Origine Controllée) and AOPs (Appellation d’Origine Protegée). While this ensures quality and protects geographic provenance, it’s also made cheese more expensive. In the olden days cheese was cheaper than meat, which was why it became a staple and earned a special place in the French meal. Nowadays, however, cheese is more expensive than meat.

That doesn’t stop cheese connoisseurs from enjoying their favorite cheeses. Even if they’re stuffed with black truffles from Perigord or made of rare sheep’s milk, cheese remains an affordable luxury.

Poulard’s status as a cheese master began when he worked as the headwaiter of Montparnasse 25 at the Le Meridien Paris. “I was very interested in tasting cheese so I said to my boss, ‘You have a sommelier, a cuisinier … it would be interesting to have a fromagier because it’s very important. We produce so many cheeses in France.”

Poulard’s boss allowed him to talk up the cheeses, and from an initial collection of 50 varieties he eventually amassed 150. “I started loving it without noticing that I was already addicted. For me, cheese was not work anymore — instead, it became a passion.”

This is actually not the cheese master’s first time to the Philippines. While working for another hotel Poulard visited right after the first People Power revolution. “At that time I came to do a promotion, there was military inside the city,” he recalls. “I brought cheese in my extra luggage, with no customs clearance whatsoever,” he laughs. “Anything is possible here.”

I ask him about the cheese room chef Costille created for Sofitel and he gives it two enthusiastic thumbs up: “I travel in the world and I never see that — the quality and the staff, they know the cheese also. I’m very surprised and happy.”

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In Sofitel Philippine Plaza’s “J’Adore Le Fromage” promotion, there are three ways to sample over 101 types of special cheese and 15 wines specially flown in from France. From now till July 13, have lunch or dinner at Spiral’s L’Epicerie (cheese room): Spiral lunch starts at P1,980 +++, Sunday brunch starts at P3,332 +++ including Champagne and French wine, dinner starts at P2,345+++ Sunday to Thursday and P2,545+++ Friday and Saturday.

Second, a wine and cheese buffet at Sofitel’s Le Bar today, July 10, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at P1,850 net. Get a 20-percent discount when you use your Visa card.

Third, join one of four wine and cheese-tasting classes to be held at Spiral’s L’Epicerie from July 10-13, 4:30-5:30 p.m. with cheese ambassador Gerard Poulard and wine specialist Pierre-Marie David. Rate is P1,500 net per person, with a maximum of eight participants per class.

For reservations and inquiries, call 832-6988 and 551-5555 ext. 6988, or email fbreservations@sofitelmanila.com.