Fromager with Love: Beijing’s First Artisanal Cheesemaker

Le Fromager de Pékin, a tiny shop buried in Beijing’s northern suburbs, is the lone outpost of artisanal cheesemaking in the city. Its founder, Liu Yang, a mild-mannered curd nerd, shared his aged “Peking Gris” Camembert with us over a cup of green tea.

En France:
“I studied International Affairs on the island of Corsica. It’s very beautiful – a little paradise. I lived in the countryside, near a village named St. Pierre. My neighbor, a 50-year-old shepherd, made goat cheese. He gave me a young local cheese to taste called Brocciu, a bit like ricotta. I knew I had to come back to Beijing and make cheese, so I enrolled in a cheesemaking course at an agricultural college out there.”

A Pékin:
“I’m the only person making French cheese in Beijing. My parents said I should find a proper job. At the moment I sell about 100 cheeses per week. It’s not a lot, but the business is growing. We make eight kinds of cheese now, including Camembert au lait cru, with unpasteurized milk. The Olive and Maison Boulud are two of my clients, and we sell online via our website.”

L’humidité:
“The most difficult part of cheesemaking is controlling the humidity inside the cheese. If I could, I’d make it in Hainan, or maybe even Sichuan. Beijing is too dry. Spring and autumn are good seasons for making cheese here. Sometimes I have to throw cheese away. When I first started, I lost lots of cheese. My wife, she couldn’t stand it.”

Les qualités:
“The qualities a cheesemaker needs are patience and to be mindful of all the little details. People want their investment back very soon in business, but this is not the right way to make cheese. It is an artisanal product. But most importantly, you have to really like cheese.”

Le futur:
“I’m sure Chinese people will get a taste for cheese eventually. Perhaps we can compare it with coffee and wine. Coffee took ten years to really catch on. Wine took perhaps five to seven years. I think cheese will take less time than coffee. I’m making hard cheese now – Tommes. And next I will make blue cheese. I tried it before and it was very successful. My mother likes blue cheese very much.”

Le Fromager de Pékin
5A-6, Xindi Market, Longteng Lu, Huilongguan Town, Changping District (135 2001 6860) www.lefromagerdepekin.com
昌平区回龙观镇龙腾街鑫地市场南门外5A-6号