Fly Away Langres

At the Concours national des fromagers, the national cheesmonger championships, on the 27th January, this levitating and turning Langres was viewed from all sides by the public. The creator of this high-flying attraction is Jean Rodriguez, owner of the cheese shop ‘Les pâturages’, located in Crolles, between Grenoble and Chambéry. For his first competition, this iconoclast cheesemonger, carved a forest of pine trees out of a farmstead Tome des Bauges and created macaroons with Selles-sur-cher, Rocamadour, and bright colored Banon. But he ran out of time to transform a Crottin de Chavignol into a mushroom.

What is the secret behind this floating Langres ? A repulsive electromagnetic current. After hollowing out the base of this little cheese from the Champagne region, the cheesemonger added a wooden disk (1cm thick and 4cm wide) containing a magnet. Below, an electric powered platform emitted an electromagnetic field. It is a method that also works well with Selles-sur-cher.

Jean Rodriguez, 46, originally from Andalusia, has only been a cheesemonger for two years. He changed course after having been production manager and quality specialist in the automobile industry, which left him with a skill for technique and innovation. ‘It’s a brilliant way of showcasing cheeses’, says this connoisseur of molecular gastronomy, who ‘likes presenting cheeses differently’.