• A WORLD OF CHEESE: The Story Continues.. 

• SPECIALS OF THE WEEK:
• Cheeses

• RECIPE OF THE WEEK:MPONT LEVESQUE STUFFED POTATOES

• BAGELSHOP SERVICES: A Small Sample of What We Offer

A WORLD OF CHEESE

 Lower Normandy is famous not only for its Camembert, but for another  fine cheese, Pont Levesque . This is yet another example of a cheese produced from the milk of Normand dairy cows in Normandy itself . (AOC since 1976) It is still, to this day manufactured using centuries old traditional methods of soft rind cheese production.

Pont Levesque has been manufactured in Normandy since the middle ages and first appears in literature in Guilaume Lorris’s Story of the Rose, in the 13th century . It is  thought to have been created by a group of monks from the county of Auges and first distributed under the name Angelot, then a generic name for the soft rind cheeses of the region.

It was only with the onset of the 16th century that modern style Pont Levesque cheeses made their way to the French capital, Paris. In the 1660's the cheese became known as Augelot, a pun on its original name of Angelot that recalls it’s origins in Auges . Shortly after this the cheese becomes officially known as Pont Levesque, named after a small village in Calvados situated between the cities of Lisieux and Trouville in Normandy . In 1772 Pont Levesque cheese starts to be distributed internationally and earns a reputation as one of the great cheeses of Europe!

Pont Levesque is made from fresh milk that is brought to a temperature of 40 degrees celsius under pressure and allowed to curdle .  The whey is then drained from the curds and they are cut and moulded and allowed to mature for 5 days in a cold room, being turned over daily . After this they are salted and allowed to mature again, being washed brushed and turned over regularly . When ready the cheese takes on orange tones from the carotenoids in the milk.
 

THIS WEEK'S SPECIALS - FRENCH CHEESES 

RECIPE OF THE WEEK: GOURMET ON THE GO

PONT LEVESQUE STUFFED POTATOES

8 LARGE POTATOES
(Yukon gold)

300g CUBED PONT LEVESQUE

225g TUB OF LIBERTY CREAM CHEESE

50g SALTED BUTTER

1 BUNCH CHIVES
(chopped fine)

COOK : potatoes in salted boiling water for 20  minutes .

DRAIN: potatoes and cut them in half lengthwise, take a spoon and remove most of the flesh making small bowls of the   potatoes . 

MASH : the flesh of the potatoes .

MIX : the mashed potatoes with 20g of butter, the cream cheese, the cubed Pont:Levesque , the chives and some salt and pepper .

FILL: one half of the potatoes with the mixture (heap it on) and top with the other half as lids .

COOK : for 10 minutes in a hot oven on a buttered tray.

SERVE : hot accompanying  a meal, or cold with a side salad .
 

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