Riopelle de l’Isle is a triple-cream artisanal cheese with a downy whitish rind and a creamy ivory-coloured paste with a sometimes chalky heart. It boasts sweet butter and fresh mushroom aromas, and a sweet taste with rich flavors of butter, cream and mushroom.

The cheese is named after famous Québec painter Jean-Paul Riopelle, who was a resident of Isle aux-Grues when the cheese was introduced in 2001. Riopelle had agreed to lend his name and donate the copyright income from the reproduction of his painting on the cheese packaging on condition that one dollar per wheel sold be donated to a youth foundation on the island. The Fondation Riopelle-Vachon was created in 2001 and has since been awarding scholarships to island youth who wish to pursue post-secondary studies.

Cheesemaker

This cheese dairy began in 1976 when 14 producers from the island founded the Société Coopérative Agricole de l’Isle-aux-Grues in order to process their milk into cheese. The operation began in 1977 and took place only in the summer.