I am an independent cheesemaking consultant. I work on site, anywhere in France, to diagnose a production problem, design a workshop, develop a product or improve yields. A consulting assignment always starts by watching a make in real conditions, never with a report written from a distance.
They often combine: an audit leads to an action plan, and a new workshop project continues as support through the first months of production.
I watch a complete make, from the milk to the ripening room, and identify what explains the deviations you see: acidification, curd cutting, temperatures, draining, hygiene, ripening room conditions. You receive written recommendations, ranked by priority, that work with the equipment you already have.
You want to start processing your milk on the farm, or extend an existing workshop. I work on sizing, the layout of the premises and the forward flow, equipment choices, specifications for suppliers, and compliance with hygiene regulations. The aim: a workshop that still works in ten years, not just on opening day.
A cheese that blows, a rind that will not form, a flavour drifting, a yield collapsing for no obvious reason: I look for the cause rather than the symptom. I also support the development of a new product, from the idea through to a regular, repeatable make.
How many litres of milk for one kilo of cheese, and why not fewer? I analyse your losses, how your processes are run, your quality management and your in-house controls, to free up margin without degrading the product.
You describe your milk, your equipment and the problem or the project. Free, with no commitment.
I watch a complete make, in your real working conditions.
Recommendations ranked by priority, workable with your resources and your staff.
Regular contact, adjustments, and year-round support if you want it.
Yes. I am based in the Basque Country, in Hélette in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, and I work throughout France. Travel is arranged quickly, including when a make goes wrong and you need someone fast.
Yes, and they are a large part of my work. I support farmers processing a few hundred litres a week just as I do small dairy businesses. The methods differ, the approach does not.
Cow, sheep and goat. My training at ENILBIO with Bernard Mietton and twenty years in the field cover soft, pressed and cooked cheeses as well as lactic technologies.
My work is centred on France, where travel and follow-up are straightforward. For a project abroad, write to me and describe it: I will tell you honestly whether I am the right person, and in which language we can work.
The first conversation is free and carries no commitment. The more precisely you describe your milk, your equipment and what is going wrong, the more useful my answer will be.
