Previously, Camilla Bojsen-Møller, one of our co-hosts and writer/owner of CheeseTalks, introduced us to La Laiterie de Paris, one of Paris’s first downtown dairies located in the 18th arrondissement. Interestingly, if you take a 10-minute walk southwest from the Laiterie de Paris, you’ll find another small dairy - Laiterie La Chapelle - which maintains a hyper-local focus - from the sourcing of its milk to the naming of its cheeses – while offering transparency in all of its operations.
Stop #2: Laiterie La Chapelle
The desire of Laiterie La Chapelle’s ambitious founder and owner, Paul Zindy, is to not only make cheese and other dairy products in the heart of Paris with a taste of nearby “terroir,” but he also wants to offer an educational opportunity, whether that means simply viewing cheese production and aging through the windows (yes, the aging room was brought to the ground floor) or taking one of his cheesemaking classes. His raw milk cheeses mature on wooden planks and can be seen from the street as well as from the inside of the shop.
Photo credit: Camilla Bojsen-Møller
Paul told me that he receives milk (or fetches it himself!) several times a week from a farm just 35km (a little over 20 miles) situated just northwest of Paris in the French Vexin Regional Nature Park. His local emphasis which is also noted in the name of the cheeses such as “La Tomme La Chapelle,” and “Dormoy”- the name of a nearby metro station. The style of cheeses are mostly “tommes,” which can vary in texture from semi-soft to hard which may resemble a morbier, saint-nectaire, mimolette, reblochon, or cantal.
Photo credit: Camilla Bojsen-Møller
Since its inception in August 2018, the Laiterie La Chapelle also produces other dairy products such as fresh cheeses, yogurt, and fromage blanc, all from organic cow’s milk. The Laiterie La Chapelle also offers its own crème au chocolat, crème renversé, and riz au lait. While it only sells the dairy products it produces, the shop does offer a few of Paul’s local favorites such as La Bière du Vexin, made near the farm where his milk is sourced.
While I didn’t have the time to participate, Laiterie La Chapelle invites you to join the team in the dairy! Put on your apron and learn to make your own cheese. In small groups (3-5 persons) you will make a Tommette (small hard cheese). After three months of maturation, you can pick up your cheese and taste the result. Sounds like a good excuse to return to Paris a few months later! Read more and book here (in French).
Laiterie la Chapelle: 72 Rue Philippe de Girard, 75018 Paris
Stop #3: Nanina – Raw milk Buffalo Mozzarella
While I haven’t been myself, I’ve heard that the daily-made mozzarella made at Nanina is worth making a trip for, either to enjoy at their shop - as an ingredient in a panini or salad - or to be taken home and devoured.
At the end of 2017, Julien Carotenuto opened Nanina (named after his great-grandmother), becoming the first dairy making raw milk buffalo mozzarella in Paris. Located in the city’s 11th arrondissement, Julien and his team make Campania-style mozzarella, ricotta, and scamorza from raw buffalo milk sourced from France’s Auvergne region.
Nanina: 24 Rue Basfroi, 75011 Paris
Photo credit: Camilla Bojsen-Møller
Stop #4: Ottanta – Organic Mozzarella, Burrata and more
Another “Italian” dairy on my bucket list for Paris is Ottanta where they make organic fresh cheese such as mozzarella, burrata, ricotta as well as stracciatella (and fresh pasta). Opened in 2015 by Sara Lacombo, a native of Puglia, Italy, Ottanta was the first to produce organic, artisanal, fresh mozzarella in France – using local cow’s milk from Paris’s outskirts – but Puglia-styled!
Next time you’re in Paris, be sure to Ottanta or, better yet, sign up for one of Sara’s mozzarella and burrata-making workshops, available at the shop.
Ottanta : 19, rue du Cardinal Lemoine, 75005 Paris
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Camilla Bojsen-Møller works as a cheese communicator in Denmark. She has blogged about cheese (in Danish) since 2012. Follow her cheese universe (in English) on her blog www.cheesetalks.com as well as Instagram and Facebook.