Unusual
article | Reading time3 min
A cheese maturing cellar has been set up in the former soldiers' bedrooms of a barracks in Mont-Dauphin: we tell you all about it!
A little history
In September 2020, cheese maturing cellars were inaugurated in the heart of the Rochambeau barracks in Mont-Dauphin. This is the culmination of a heritage reuse project that began in 2015.
At the time, the team from the Fromagerie d'Eygliers (a neighbouring commune of Mont-Dauphin) was looking for new spaces in which to mature its cheeses.The team was interested in the former military buildings in Mont-Dauphin because of their architectural features: - the materials and thickness of the walls (classical architecture from the 17thand 18th centuries) ensure constant humidity and temperature; - the vaults allow natural ventilation of the room (so the cheeses don't dry out).
The first scouts were carried out in 2015, the partnership with the Centre des Monuments Nationaux was signed in 2018, and the work is due to start in 2020, with the inauguration scheduled for September of the same year.
Several types of cheese are matured in the Mont-Dauphin cellar, including Bleu du Queyras, Raclette, Tomme de Montagne, Fondant, Duo, Cabrette and Fruité.
The cellars have a constant temperature of 12 degrees and a humidity level of 98-99%.
Patrick Domeyne
Zoom on the floor
The floor is a wooden floor for two reasons:- the inertia of wood allows humidity to be maintained;- the wooden floor is added on top of the original floor and allows it to be preserved (as the Rochambeau barracks in Mont-Dauphin are a protected historic monument, any installation must be reversible).
In two rooms, the original floor was made of calade . In order to preserve them and enable a stable floor to be laid, sand and gravel were poured in before the wooden floor was installed.
This constraint was turned into an advantage, as the quantity of sand and gravel made it easy to manage the humidity levels in these two cellars.
Patrick Domeyne
La Fromagerie d'Eygliers
Created in 1958, the Coopérative Alpine (producing yoghurts, faisselles and fresh milk) merged with Guil et Durance to form the Coopérative Laitière des Alpes du Sud in 2005.
Today, the Fromagerie d'Eygliers represents 28 member farms, 46 members, 8 cow's milk producers (including one organic producer) and one goat's milk producer. Its premises are located in the village of Eygliers (the commune surrounding Mont-Dauphin).
Patrick Domeyne
The Rochambeau barracks
The Rochambeau barracks (built in the 18th century) is one of three barracks in the stronghold of Mont-Dauphin, with around 5,000m2 of usable space. Built against the southern ramparts of the stronghold, it provided accommodation for more than 600 soldiers.
The Centre des Monuments Nationaux is responsible for preserving the building, and the attic is open to visitors , where you can admire a rare example of Philibert Delorme-style timberwork over a length of more than 250 metres.
To find out more about the history of Mont-Dauphin, click here!
Pierre Barrot - Centre des monuments nationaux
