Cheesemaker Benoît Déforel combines excellence with longevity

"It's recognition of the hard work we put in every day."

Benoît Deforel, master cheesemaker in Sâles

Of the ten Gruyère AOP selected for presentation to the Council of State, Benoît Déforel's was awarded the highest average score. The stage was set, and the final result only confirmed it. "It's recognition of the hard work we put in every day, and it feels good," smiles the winner. As for the impact on sales, the cheesemaker is cautious: "The media give us publicity. So much the better, because otherwise, to get to Sâles, you either have to be from the village or you’ll lose your way!” At the Déforel dairy, the price of Gruyère AOP is a little lower than elsewhere, in particular to allow families and senior citizens to treat themselves to a good cheese. Benoît Déforel's Gruyère AOP has already won numerous awards, including from the IPG. So, since the announcement that it had been awarded the title, the company has been conscientiously pursuing its mission: to ensure that the cheese tastes good, is of good quality and ages well.

Staying the course and building the future together

As Chairman of the Société de Fromagerie de Sâles, Michel Fahrni makes no secret of his satisfaction. This Gruyère d'État also reflects the excellent collaboration between the cheesemaker and all the company's milk producers. Having grown up on a farm, Benoît Déforel knows the reality of milk producers. Conversely, they are involved in everything that happens at the cheese dairy: "Our success stems from our ability to engage in dialogue and assume our respective responsibilities: the producers ensure the quality of the milk and provide the cheesemaker with the best possible working tool. For his part, he is committed to society and to the IPG to produce the best cheese worthy of our beautiful AOP," explains Michel Fahrni. The Chairman regrets that this interdependence and the joint efforts to honour the AOP criteria are not better known to consumers. Just as he regrets that some milk producers, who are very concerned about quantities and the profits to be made from them, forget that they are a link in the chain of a wider project, which is to sustain the industry so that Gruyère AOP lives on.

Against a backdrop of rising discontent among farmers, including in our own regions, the dairy industry is on the alert. Michel Fahrni and Benoît Déforel express their hopes that the IPG will stay on course and that the three professional families will look to the future together.

Figures:

• 4 million kilos of milk used to make Gruyère AOP cheese
• 20 milk producers
• 3 employees