Le Grand 2 is a cheese with a smooth pinkish rind and a firm yet supple light yellow interior dotted with small irregular holes. The cheese features lactic, fruity aromas and a bold taste that is lactic, slightly caprine and fruity with a hint of the farm.

Le Grand 2’s name refers to the place where the cheesemaker is located, on Rang 2, as well as the two types of milk used in its fabrication: 70% organic raw cow milk and 30% organic raw goat milk. The illustration on the label is of “the milking hour,” a work by local artist Robert Julien.

Cheesemaker

Fromagerie des Grondines was inaugurated in 2007 at the AACAT farm, owned by Charles Trottier and Guylaine Rivard. The couple had long dreamed of making cheese to take advantage of the milk from their Brown Swiss dairy herd. The dream started taking shape in 2004, when the farmers joined forces with their friend and amateur cheesemaker Louis Arseneault. A project manager in Montreal at the time, Mr. Arseneault, who was already making cheese in the basement of his ancestral home in Grondines, decided to leave the city and devote himself to the project. For a few years the three partners tinkered with their product, got trained in cheesemaking techniques, enlisted the help of cheese consultants, and, more importantly, practised their new passion, acquiring most of their current knowledge by trial and error.