Maitre Fromagiers

[bleudauvergne]

Hi Steve -

In a recent major career questionning (and identity) crisis brought on by eGullet , have taken a great interest in what the qualifications of the "Maitre Fromagiers" in restaurants outside of France are. From what I understand, this is becoming a more and more common position on the staff of many U.S. and U.K. restaurants. Their job is to choose, purchase, age, and serve the restaurant's platter, somewhat akin to the sommelier, with sometimes the sommelier wearing both hats. My big question is how does someone become qualified for this? Is it simply enough to know cheese? My thought was to work on obtaining the required certification and bring this expertise back home to the States with me one day.

From what I have been able to gather so far, it seems like something people fall into, working in a cheese shop, then getting a job in a restaurant, or promoted from busboy... I have not been able to find standardized French training in this field, although the state does sponsor/require some training courses for French cheese retailers that entails the science of cheese temps and bacteria control, etc. The Insitute Bocuse features cheese/wine pairings during one day of a wine seminar - but I would hardly count that as training.

In the restaurant industry, is this a job taken at random ?

Thank you for any info you might be able to offer.

[master cheesemonger/grocer]

Lucy, there is no training or certification for jobs like this. You've got to teach yourself. You've got to get a job with a cheese operation, preferably retail, and learn everything there is to know about cheese.

[formerly grueldelux]

Lucy, there is no training or certification for jobs like this.  You've got to teach yourself.  You've got to get a job with a cheese operation, preferably retail, and learn everything there is to know about cheese.

Do you mean that there are no worthwhile certifications (as compared to hands-on experience in retail) or literally none? Because I know Boston University, for example, offers a three-month (I think) cheese certification course.

[master cheesemonger/grocer]

That's for cheeseMAKING, for crying out loud. There is no "certification" for becoming a cheesemonger.

[formerly grueldelux]

That's for cheeseMAKING, for crying out loud.  There is no "certification" for becoming a cheesemonger.

Pretty sure it's not cheesemaking. More like cheese appreciation, from what I understand, with lectures, sampling, field trips etc. It's taught by Ihsan Gurdal of Formaggio Kitchen.

[gariotin]

I'm not sure EXACTLY what you get, but there does seem to be some sort of certificate provided by BU when you take the class w/Ihsan. I'm an importer/distributor based in Boston and I get a lot of calls from folks who have

taken this course and think they want to open a cheese shop. I agree w/Steve that you really need to work in retail or distribution to learn the basics - a course is not going to teach you what you need to know. If you're in Boston, feel free to PM me and I can give you some suggestions of places to work where you could learn a lot.