The Best of Taste Le Tour with Gabriel Gate s15 ep308
Channel: Peter J Warren
Date: 2020-03-07

"Bonjour and welcome to the best of Taste le Tour
Today we meet a very respected Cheese master in one of the most atmospheric Pyrenees markets.
"
Every year I have enjoyed visiting this picturesque region, in 2018 it was the lively market of Saint Lary Soulan.
The cheese stand les fromagers du Mont Royal is very busy.The owner Dominique Bouchait is a leading authority on the cheese of the region
"Nous sommes dans une region ou il y a un fort sentiment de terroir.
In this region people feel a strong connection to the land."
"Les gens aime tout ce qui est authentic et ne cherche pas a avoir autre chose.
They love authenticity, they don't want anything else.
Donc nous fessons du fromage au lait de vache,au lait de chèvre,
We sell cheese made with cow’s milk cheese, goat milk,
et principalement au lait de brebis.
but mainly ewes' milk.
Les gents se sont habitués au lait de brebis.
People are now used to ewes milk."
I am so pleased to accompany Dominique on a cheese collecting trip to visit Jean Noel Bellegarde, a shepherd and cheese maker who looks after two hundred magnificent ewes near the village of Arette.
"Je les trais matin et soir.
I milk them morning and nights."
"C’est des brebis qui produisent en général deux litres à deux litres et demi de lait par jour. 
They produce on average 2 to 2.5 litres of milk every day."
"Qui est destiné à la production de fromages.
The milk is used to make cheese."
"C’est un fromage qui a l’air d’être apprécié,Parce que je travaille encore à l’ancienne. Avec des méthodes encore ancestrales.
The cheese seems quite popular, because I still work in the traditional way,following age old methods."
"Il faut savoir le faire. Lui il sait le faire.
You need the expertise. He has it."
"Et moi mon idée c’est d’aller trouver les clients qui vont aimer ce qu’il fait lui.
I want to find clients who will appreciate what he does."
"Je fabrique mes fromages encore à la main dans le chaudron.
I still make cheese by hand in a cauldron.
Je fais mes fromages sans même d’éléctricité.
I don’t even use electricity."
"Jean Noel makes only a few cheeses a day and it’s a privilege to see him fashion them with his large hands. 
The cheese is taken into the underground cave that his father built many years ago. They are then salted and cared for until Dominique collects them. 
It’s time to taste this unique cheese."
"Alors ca c’est vraiment important.
Most importantly…"
"Les gens oublient que le fromage c’est comme le vin.
People tend to forget that cheese is like wine. "
"Sens-le.
Smell it.
Et les gens le foûtent tout de suite à la bouche. Ils oublient de sentir le fromage.
People place it in their mouths and don’t smell it.
Ca aussi ça fait partie de ce que c’est qu’un fromager.
And that’s the role of a cheese monger."
"Quelqu’un qui apprend. C’est ce qu’il faut avec un bon fromage.
To teach people what to do with cheese. To know about cheese. "
"Il faut savoir en parler.
To talk it about it."
"Franchement, c’est ça que je recherche pour le client.
This is what I’m after my clients."
"Mmm.. c’est bon.
Yum it’s good."
"Navarin d’Agneau aux Champignons
Lamb Stew with Mushrooms and Peas"
“This lamb stew is a great French classic called a Navarin.”
First, I brown 800g of lamb pieces from the shoulder in a little oil and season with salt and pepper.
“I make sure that the fat of the lamb has been well trimmed before the browning.”
Next I add one diced onion and four sprigs of thyme and stir for two minutes before stirring in one tablespoon of flour.
Next, I mix in half a cup of strong stock….two diced tomatoes  ….and two crushed garlic cloves, along with some diced carrots.
I cover with foil and a lid and cook in the oven for almost two hours at 140°C
"When the meat is tender, I add some sautéed mushrooms along with one cup of cooked peas and three tablespoons of chopped parsley.
This navarin d'agneau aux champignons is a much-loved week-end feast."
In our next Best of Taste le Tour we feature the beautiful specialities of some of the most beautiful rural parts of France