Book info

• Title The Cheese and I
• Author Matt Feroze
• Year 2013
• Genre Non-fiction

Matt Feroze had a rather unusual dream: to become a cheesemonger in the highly competitive French cheese industry. To accomplish this, however, he would have to make huge sacrifices: give up a good job as an accountant in England and say goodbye to his friends and family, moving to a country in which he struggled with the language and knew next to nothing about the profession he wished to enter. Yet only a year later he was being crowned Champion de France des Fromagers, beating veteran French cheesemongers to the title and opening up a wealth of new opportunities for himself. The Cheese and I is the remarkable story of how he pulled off such an incredible feat.

Thoughts

An unusual memoir that chronicles one man’s attempt to leave a stuffy accountancy job behind for a life in the cheese caves of France. It’s actually less dramatic than that sounds, as our protagonist quite liked his office job but just felt like taking a sabbatical to indulge in his passion for cheese.

I loved reading about the atmospheric regions of France, Bruno’s goats, strolls around Lyon, and the rich textures involved in cheese-making. The stressful parts of the book were less fun, language learning, real estate bureaucracy and unhappy customers, but overall that gave it a great balance.

The story feels somewhat unfinished though, leaving off at the peak of a new and exciting period - I want to know more about the cheese tour. Very good book though, a well told memoir able to engage cheese fans and non-dairy lovers alike.

Rating: 4 / 5