Five years ago Arnaud Guichard took over the reins of the Fromagerie Fleurette in Rougemont. Arnaud spoke to GstaadLife about his passion for cheese.

Did you always plan to become a cheese maker?
I come from an agricultural background – both my parents were farmers. I actually completed a farming apprenticeship as well as an apprenticeship in cheese-making so a life in agriculture was always on the cards for me.

Why the Fromagerie Fleurette?
Well, I thought it was an appealing challenge! Since achieving my cheese making certificate, I had mainly been making Gruyère AOP in Penthéréaz. After learning from Michel Beroud that he was planning to retire after 32 years, I decided it would be a fantastic opportunity to move to Rougemont and work with a soft cheese like the tomme Fleurette. The most important aspect of the handover from Michel was maintaining the dairy’s excellent reputation by keeping the quality of the cheese high. The actual transition took two full years. I worked for Michel in 2019, then he continued to work with me after I became the owner in 2020. Even since then, Michel and his wife Hélène have continued to serve as ambassadors of the tomme Fleurette so I’m very lucky to have their ongoing support.

What makes an excellent cheese?
The tomme Fleurette is a well-known soft cheese that has won many awards. Our fantastic location and the cows’ access to mountain grass are extremely important in creating this quality. In summer, we get milk from cows that graze in the high alpine pastures, and in winter, they eat hay harvested during the summer. It is this grass and flower mix that gives the local milk unique flavours, which we use to produce our cheese.

What is it like to run an artisan cheese business?
As with anything, there are good and bad. The Covid years were positive for us as people ate a lot of cheese, but the currency exchange rates at the moment are challenging. That said, we continue to export to our international clients as we value their business. We don’t have a webshop, but clients can email us their orders.

One difficulty in Switzerland is that the Coop and Migros have a huge influence on the market. Nevertheless, we work with a lot of local businesses that stock our products and we also have our own shop here at the dairy in Rougemont. We even have a refrigerated vending machine outside the building, so you can buy our products at any time of day or night! 

Above all else, it’s important to maintain our strong reputation for artisan cheese making. There are many cheaper cheeses on the market for people to choose from, but we continue to focus on doing what we do best. Whenever I see restaurants offering our cheese, I feel immensely proud.

What are your future plans?
The focus has been, and continues to be, on maintaining the quality and consistency of our products. Of being an artisan cheese dairy in the mountains. That’s where I’m putting all my energy for now. Even if we were to decide to produce more cheese, we don’t want to make this into an “industry”. We want to stay close to our traditions and our roots.

How do you spend your spare time?
It’s really important to enjoy this work because there isn’t much free time. I work long hours seven days a week, every week! Happily, I love sports and being out in nature. This place is amazing, the Videmanette is incredible. For me, spending time outside in the region is fantastic.

ANNA CHARLES