Tarentais, Eddie Giffey & La Ferme du Planay

In 2021, Eddie Giffey built his chevrerie at La Ferme du Planay, dramatically positioned at an altitude of 1840 metres on a steep slope, sheltered at the back by a line of trees as at that altitude there is the danger of avalanche.  Only a couple of years back, he told Jon, Elle, Taylor and Laurence who visited him a fortnight ago, they experienced avalanches either side of the chevrerie.  The Ferme is in the commune of Vilaroger in the Haute Tarentais region of the Savoie.

Previously Eddie had been in milk production with two other farmers but having heard from the local municipality that there was land that he could use, he moved to the higher slopes to establish a place for himself and his herd of 120 Saanen-Alpine goats.  There were no buildings there at the time and he had to level out the land to build the chalet-like structure.  He used resources available from the area, which meant taking wood 200 metres down the mountain to be planed into the striking 25m wooden beams which make up the chevrerie. 

It isn’t common when talking about a goats cheese to refer to transhumance.  They are often made at lower altitude so this isn’t necessary.  But Tarentais is not like most goats cheeses. 

In this case the farming behind it is closer to that of mountain cheeses like Gruyere or L’Etivaz as the goats leave their barn in springtime when the snows melt and travel up from their winter housing by Eddie’s house further down the mountain to spend the summer months up at the chevrerie and grazing the alpine pastures.

However this isn’t the only way this goats cheese stands apart from the crowd.

Most seasonal goats cheeses are not available in the winter months.  The Savoie, is at its busiest during the ski season so Eddie shapes his seasonality accordingly.  The first kids are born in November, so his cheeses and yoghurts are available from December onwards.  In springtime the animals travel up the mountain to the chevrerie where they are at their most productive.  Walking around the slopes as well as grazing the fresh grasses, flowers and herbs of their pasture means that they can produce up to 15% more milk than when they are indoors. 

Each season, Eddie hires a seasonal worker.  This year, it is Deborah who walks the goats from the chevrerie up to the pastures and follows them as they graze the 120 hectares of land available to them.  She is accompanied by a dog who helps to herd them and guard against wolves.  At midday they all shelter in the shade of some trees to escape the sun at its strongest.  Eddie drives up to milk them twice a day, effectively going the wrong way up a ski run. He then takes the milk down to the dairy by his house and makes yoghurt, fromage blanc, tommes and of course, Tarentais.

The goats begin to produce more milk from about February when up to 80 of the herd are milking (the herd also comprises, kids and a number of billy goats). Production slows in July and they return down the mountain in late September for the winter.  Haymaking, which takes place around June, means that once the goats return to their spacious barn for the winter, they still have the lovely mix of grasses, herbs and flowers from their pasture which is essential for ensuring the quality of their milk and of the cheese when the season starts again in December.

The recipe for this cheese is unusual as it is a mixed curd cheese.  This means that each day they acidify the milk using whey from the previous day and allow it to set over 24 hours.  On the second day it is ladled into trays lined with draining cloths and on the third and fourth days these cloths are suspended into sacks. 

This process repeats each day (apart from Sundays when they have a day off) meaning there is a quantity of curd from various days available to mix together.  On the fifth day in the life of a Tarentais, a mixture of curds are salted and put into cloth lined moulds.  After a further 24 hours they are turned and a day later they are removed from their moulds.  This means each cheese has taken 7 days to make.

They sit for 3 to 4 days at the temperature of the make room in order for a wrinkly geotrichum rind to begin to form and then are moved to colder temperatures to mature.

The number of days curd they have depends on the level of milk production.  In July when the animals produce less, they may use up to 4 different curds from different days.  In February or March when there is more milk produced and the pressure to get it turned in to cheese is greater, it is more likely to be curd from 2 different days.  The cheeses we have at the moment reflect the intensity of flavour that 4 different curds can bring.  Always flavourful, the summer cheeses are intense, powerful with marmalade or orange bitter notes, sharp acidity and a meaty animal quality.  Exciting to eat, sometimes confronting your expectations, they have been described as the Oliver Reed of goats cheese:  on the edge but delivered with great panache.