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March 27 is la Journée Nationale du Fromage, or National Cheese Day, here in France. Today we will be honoring rare, small production, farmer produced, raw milk cheeses. You can be sure that I'll be celebrating!

Over the last (almost) 13 years I've covered a lot of topics here on Chez Loulou, and the one that I still love to talk about and am most passionate about is   French cheese. But lately cheese has been getting some competition. My project to taste  all the cheese  slowly progresses and I continually nerd out with books like  The Oxford Companion to Cheese  and  Mastering Cheese . I always want to learn more, read more and  eat  more cheese. Also, for the last few years I've had the incredible opportunity to offer a French  cheese tasting  workshop with  Paris by Mouth . It is the highlight of my week and the most fun I ever imagined a job could be. French cheese will always be my greatest love, but now I've fallen for something else. I'm having a little fling with French wine. (shhh....don't tell cheese) Over the summer I enrolled in an intense, online French Wine Scholar certification program and I honestly had no idea wha...

1) Oozy grilled cheese at Paroles de Fromagers 2) goat and goat and goat 3) Emballage 4) Merci to the monks for making such delicious cheese! 5) Garrigue

1) When you're craving Italian cheese, especially homemade mozzarella, burrata and scamorza, head to La Maison de la Mozzarella ! 2) A soggy Sunday ride home 3) You better show up hungry if you reserve a table at Bofinger 4) From the farm to the market 5) A favorite wine bar of mine

Hello? Is there anybody out there? I know it's been ages, so I decided it was time for a quick catch up. The last couple of months have presented us with a few ups and downs, and I haven't been writing much, but I wanted to share some of what's been going on around here, what a few friends have been up to, some interesting links, and what I've been listening to, eating and reading. January started off with a quiet NYE at home with a friend visiting from the US, followed by a sunny, delicious, carb-filled, 48 hour trip to Rome (which thankfully renewed my faith in that crazy city!). December and January were full of doctor's appointments to prepare my husband for hip replacement surgery. I'm going to say it again...the healthcare in France is incredible! He's now working with a physical therapist and will be ditching his crutches soon. Unfortunately I wasn't able to make my annual trek to New Orleans for Mardi Gras in February, which totally bummed me ou...

I've always loved the subtle flavors that leaves ,  bark ,  ash  and  herbs  lend to cheese. Montrachet is no exception. It is wrapped in a chestnut leaf and is one of a handful of goat cheeses produced in Burgundy, a region that is famous for its wine, bien sûr , but also for its cow's milk cheeses, especially of the washed rind variety. Cheeses like Époisses, Abbaye de Cîteaux , Soumaintrain and Ami du Chambertin . But the popularity of cows in Burgundy doesn't mean you should disregard the wonderful goat cheeses from this region, such as Mâconnais and Charolais, both of which can be made entirely from goat's milk, and sometimes from a blend of cow and goat's milk. Montrachet is made by a sole producer located in Saint-Gengoux-le-National, a tiny town about an hour north of Mâcon. It is a semi-firm, unpasteurized goat cheese shaped like a squat little barrel. The chestnut leaf keeps it moist and adds a slight note of earthiness. It is tied with a strip...

1) When you have a stressful afternoon at the doctor’s office and walk outside, turn the corner and see this. And you can't help but smile. 2)  Paris offers endless opportunity to sit down, slow down, and watch the world go by 3) Beautiful, aged mimolette 4) Yes, it smelled incredible 5) Chocolate, as far as the eye can see