Melun Fete son Brie

In the US I was never a Brie cheese fan.

But eating Brie where it's made is a delicious shock to the taste buds.

The 1rst Saturday of October, Melun, just 20 minutes east of Paris, celebrates it's Brie. The festival takes over the town. Melun's shield design dates from the 15th century.

Last year I left empty handed. Not this time. The first Brie seller I came across, conveniently placed in front of a local fromager, immediately got my €€.

Soon as I turned a corner the whole fete going on.

Tent after tent offering Brie tastings, local honeys, rose 🌹 nectars, Champagne 🍾 Plus a lunch menu at restaurant 'Maryland'  - every course soup-to-nuts embellished with Brie. 

No less then the head of the brotherhood (le Confrerie des Chevaliers du Brie de Melun) was cutting 🔪 slices himself, wearing a Brie-like wheel of a hat.

Back in the cheese shop, less auspicious hands cut up my quarter slice.

Bries from all the surrounding towns, Coulommiers, Meaux are on offer with subtle aromas of cream, butter, hazelnuts and made from raw cow's milk.

Cows 🐄 always participate at the fete. Glasses of fresh milk 🥛 are handed out on the spot.

Cows 🐄 are everywhere in Melun. Hard to miss.

Rose syrups from nearby Provins.

I was tempted by the ready-cooked chestnuts, but 2 1/2 pounds is a lot of chestnuts for one person unless I have a chestnut 🌰 party.

I loved ❤️ the Champagne 🍾 jeroboams including a set of glass flutes 🥂

The Normans sacked Melun in 845. There's plenty of history here.

A different view of the Seine from a different bridge. Melun is in district Seine-et-Marne.

Back in Paris I ran out to catch my first 'Nuits Blanches' at yet to open musée Picasso.

When I got home my Brie was left out on the counter. Runny, almost soupy. Perfection on a slice of baguette 🥖 

There is nothing like eating French food bought at it's site of origin. Nothing compares.

Check out my Fromage 🧀 Map of Paris. 

         🥖 🧀🥖 🧀 🥖 In my Etsy shop.🧀 🥖 🧀 🥖 

Melun Fete son Brie

The 1st Saturday in October is the not-to-be-missed Melun Fete son Brie.

Melun is a 26 minute train ride outside of Paris (Gare du Lyon) in the Ile-de-France department. *Please pronounce that Maaaaaaa-la...n like a French cow (not like a Vermont cow). If you say something like melon no one will have a clue what you're talking about by the way. The actual town is a 20 minute walk from the train station. But since some people haven't yet learned to wait on line for the bus or anything else, I suggest you wait. Granted I would have missed out on the scent of Brie cheese wafting over the bridge as I marched into Melun.

The town square was full of white tents offering an international cheese tasting. This fellow was born and bred in the Swiss town of Emmental from a family of cheese makers.

He offered me a taste of wonderful three-year-old Emmental. There are visible salt crystals on the side, the sign of the real thing. I bought his home-made fig/apple mustard but I should have bought some Emmental! 

It tasted infinitely better than the stuff in all the supermarkets here. When you order anything cheesey in France like a croque monsieur or a crepe fromage etc. you can bet your bottom euro it's this cheap industrial, shredded stuff you're getting - not nice at all.
 

Next to the Swiss guy a Polish purveyor from the Madeleine. (Where was the Brie?)
 

I bought ropes of smoky Kabanosy.
 

I merely tasted the cassis but was sorely tempted.
 

And even more tempted by the chestnuts from the Limosine. I just couldn't figure out what I'd do with a big bag of them...? You tell me.
 

I figured that was it for the fete and started wandering the streets to get back to the train station. Wrong! All the alleyways were full of little rock bands, producteurs from around France and and performers like this pantomime guy doing a 'cooking' demo for kids.
 

At last I found the town hall/Hotel de Ville where the main shindig was going on.

Plenty of Brie du Melun to taste here.
 

Honey tasting for the kids.

A lot of confreries (brotherhood/association) of this or that in medieval outfits.

The big cheese got up

To look a lot like a wheel of Brie IMHO.
 

Nearly everyone at this event was a confrerie of something or other including the guy pouring out tastes of milk. I'm sure this cow has a medal lurking at the end of her chain conferring some sort of honorary association. Geraldine says she's a confrerie du tastevin Clos Vougeot.
 

Big bird was not wearing a medal. Why ever not?
 

There is a decidedly medieval feel to this festival - everyone is out in the streets, many in costume, music playing. In general loads of fun and good cheer just a short ride out of Paris. True I did miss the big Brie tasting contest earlier in the day, but I'll try not to miss out on next Saturday's Brie fete in Meaux. Stay tuned.
 

Melun Fête son Brie

On Saturday, Bear 🐻 and I took the train to Melun, a 25 minute train ride from Gare de Lyon.

Melun is home 🏠 to an extra-aged, deliciously creamy Brie cheese.

Fall Marché de Pays Aveyron 2021, Bercy Paris

 

Are you wearing your Fall 🍁clothes yet?

Have you bought any Fall flowers🍂?

Fall is the time for French regional foodie events. I’d like to get away outside Paris more on the weekends and I thought this weekend was the Fete du Brie in Melun…but it was last weekend 😬 Next year🤞

Instead I went to the Marché de Pays Aveyron. It seems a good idea to place the department of Aveyon (26 min video in French) on the map.

Every October the Marché de Pays Aveyron takes place in Bercy 12e. Its been 3 years and I wasn’t going to miss it. Portions tend to be family-size.

They don’t understand what an ‘individual’ part/ portion is. Buy the whole cake or nuttin’. Full of myrtille/blueberry preserves, though they look like Philadelphia cinnamon buns. Thank goodness for the big free samples. I ate them and bought a sacristan to justify.

The marché is a ‘populaire’ event (for regular folks) with many, many free tastes. 

Especially their famous regional sheep cheese, Roquefort. I bought a part(1/4 for 12€). This tastes nothing like the packaged stuff I usually buy in the supermarché.

Another must-taste regional specialty is hot Aligot (mashed potatoes, localTomme cheese, a ton of garlic plus grilled sausage) eaten with a tumbler of beer of course.

But the lines were block-long and I don’t yet have French patience. Next year…

No long lines for fresh regional walnuts in the shell. I bought a kilo(2.2 pds). 

The marrons looked tempting.

As did the tins of foie gras…

Steaks from the grass-fed Aubrac cattle are some of the tastiest in France and always in demand at the marché.

One thing I did have patience for was these mohair winter socks.

I had seen at the fair in 2015. 

But she only had knee-highs. No short socks. I may have to visit Aveyron to get them! Or wait until next year and pray 🙏 Or find another farm. An automnal walk through the Jardin des Plantes ended a beautiful sunny, crisp day. And back to the drawing✏️ table. Thanks for reading Parisbreakfast. If you'd like to receive Parisbreakfast letters 💌 maps and watercolors in your mailbox 📮 look in my Etsy shop. 

Bonne Monday PBers ☕️🥐🇫🇷💋🐻