Androuët (cheese trade)

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Retail shop in rue de Verneuil, 7th arrondissement , Paris , 2010
Androuët family in front of their shop, 1909

The Androuët is a cheese shop founded in Paris in 1909 and an affineur for French cheeses .

history

The company founder Henri Androuët, originally from Brittany , was a representative for the Fromagerie Ch. Gervais company in the early 20th century . In Paris he met his future wife Ida in a dairy shop at 41 rue d'Amsterdam in the 8th arrondissement of Paris , who was employed there. The two married and took over the business in 1909 with borrowed money.

In addition to fresh milk, butter and eggs, the offer also included cheese. At that time, the Parisian population consumed the vast majority of the large-scale and widespread cheeses such as Brie and Camembert . Because of the long transport routes, the cheeses were often in poor condition or overripe when they reached the consumer. Henri Androuët went to great lengths to ensure the freshness of his products. He also offered regional specialties that were often unknown in Paris and previously not appreciated. After the First World War , Androuët traveled all over France by car to buy directly from the small regional cheese factories. In 1925, Androuët was known for consistently selling more than 100 French cheeses.

In the first few years, the Androuëts were not only active as cheese traders, but also as affineurs who refined the cheese they bought young in their own business. Initially, the decisive factor was the desire to be able to offer customers their cheese when it was optimally ripe. In 1925, Henri Androuët published brochures in which he reviewed over 100 types of cheese with details of their origin, production and properties. The brochures were very popular and made a significant contribution to the popularity of previously unknown types of cheese and the success of the house.

In 1930, Pierre Androuët joined his parents' company. In the 1930s, Henri and Pierre Androuët developed the Brillat-Savarin , which is still produced today, albeit by a different company. In 1934, the Androuët family opened a restaurant above the shop, which focused on dishes with cheese. In doing so, extravagant offers such as seldom available cheeses and unusual ingredients were largely dispensed with, and the guests were presented with a more traditional menu of cheese dishes. Regulars included numerous celebrities, such as Orson Welles , Ernest Hemingway and Maria Callas , who occasionally prepared a dish herself in the restaurant's kitchen. There was a room next to the restaurant where customers could taste the cheese specialties undisturbed.

Pierre Androuët took over management of the company in 1948. In the early 1950s, Henri and Pierre were the most respected cheese masters in France and the world. At that time, a mail order business was set up to deliver fresh French cheese to customers all over the world by air freight.

In 1989 Androuët was sold from the family property for the first time. In the following decades there were several changes of ownership. Stéphane Blohorn, from southern France, has been the owner of the company since 2005 . 2008 was Blohorn one of the experts of the holder of the Androuët before the recording gastronomic meal of the French in the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity Representative List of UNESCO by the French Senate were heard.

In 2017 Androuët opened a branch in Levallois , which also includes five cellars with an area of ​​250 square meters. The cellars offer different temperatures, humidity levels and microflora for cheese maturation. At the beginning of 2020, the company had ten stores in Paris and the surrounding area and four in Sweden. In England, Androuët cooperates with Paxton & Whitfield , the country's oldest cheese merchant. While Androuët supplies Paxton & Whitfield with French cheese specialties, Androuët gets its English cheeses from Paxton & Whitfield.

Web links

Commons : Androuët  - collection of images, videos and audio files

supporting documents

  1. ↑ Serge Schéhadé: Androuët Pierre (Maître Fromager, Paris 75). In: Camembert Museum. November 4, 2019, accessed January 19, 2020 .
  2. ^ A b Paul Freedman: Androuët . In: Catherine Donnelly (Ed.): The Oxford Companion to Cheese . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2016, ISBN 978-0-19-933088-1 , pp. 29 .
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g Alexandra Leaf: Androuët, Pierre . In: Catherine Donnelly (Ed.): The Oxford Companion to Cheese . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2016, ISBN 978-0-19-933088-1 , pp. 29-30 .
  4. ↑ a b Busy hours on Rue d'Amsterdam. In: androuet.com. Retrieved January 19, 2020 .
  5. ↑ Juliet Harbutt (Ed.): World Cheese Book . Dorling Kindersley, London a. a. 2009, ISBN 978-0-7566-5442-9 , pp. 42 .
  6. ↑ Sarah Spira: Brillat-Savarin . In: Catherine Donnelly (Ed.): The Oxford Companion to Cheese . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2016, ISBN 978-0-19-933088-1 , pp. 88 .
  7. ↑ A family story . In: androuet.com. Retrieved January 19, 2020 .
  8. ↑ The Androuët house today. In: androuet.com. Retrieved January 19, 2020 .
  9. ↑ 2017: Androuet s'offre 5 caves d'affinage. In: androuet.com. Retrieved January 19, 2020 .
  10. ↑ Our stores. In: androuet.com. Retrieved January 19, 2020 .
  11. ^ Jill Norman: Paxton and Whitfield . In: Catherine Donnelly (Ed.): The Oxford Companion to Cheese . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2016, ISBN 978-0-19-933088-1 , pp. 554-555 .