Our ingredients have a story: Who is behind our organic camemberts?

At Le Pain Quotidien, we like to surround ourselves with passionate, committed and daring producers who put all their know-how into creating recipes that are as tasty as they are respectful of the environment. And when it comes to cheese and in particular organic camembert, it is with the young and very first urban cheese dairy Fromaville, founded in 2021 in Saint-Ouen in Ile-de-France, that we wished. Meeting with Xavier, founder of Fromaville, whose thirst for learning and curiosity gave his professional life a completely new meaning.

• Xavier, delighted! Can you introduce yourself ? What is your background ?

My name is Xavier, I’m 33 years old, and after a first career in marketing, I decided to convert to cheese production 3 years ago! I first trained at school in Aurillac, then I did various internships on farms, particularly in Normandy.

• What products do you produce for Le Pain Quotidien?

We produce Claquos de Saint-Ouen. An organic camembert, with raw milk, made in Saint-Ouen in the 93. With milk that we collect less than 100km from two partner farms!

• What is your personal leitmotif?

Persevere, never give up.

• Describe yourself in 1 sentence.

I am curious and I like to learn. How would you like to be remembered? Like someone who dared. Dared to leave his comfort in his former career, to embark on a crazy project: to become the first cheese producer in 93.

• Can you introduce Fromaville? What was the journey and the will behind the brand?

We started Fromaville in October 2021. The concept is simple: produce dairy products in town, as if they were made on the farm. We collect organic milk in Oise and Aisne, we transform in our workshop in Saint-Ouen, then we sell directly in our shop or to professionals.

• Of the 4 values ​​of Le Pain Quotidien (simplicity – quality – friendliness – authenticity), which one is most related to your own values? Why ?

Authenticity: We manufacture 100% artisanal products, doing our best to perpetuate a know-how often threatened by industrialization.

• What are Fromaville’s values? Are you looking for them in potential partners and if so why?

We want to work with irreproachable raw ingredients, with a reduced impact on the environment. Our milk is certified organic farming. It is also a pasture milk, the cows feed only on grass during the summer season, and hay during the winter. Hay that has been harvested on the farm. No corn, no silage, which have a negative impact on the quality of the milk but also on the environment.

• What do you do on a daily basis to be environmentally responsible in your activities? What measures are you taking for example?

We also practice the deposit system for the yoghurts that we manufacture. We collect the empty jars, we clean them, then we reuse them. We deliver to all Le Pain Quotidien restaurants by cargo bike via the Riders Social Club cooperative.

• What do you think would be the most obvious link between Le Pain Quotidien and Fromaville?

A good cheese is sublimated by a good bread!

• Do you have anecdotes or figures showing your contribution to a more sustainable world?

In 1 year we have recovered more than 7,000 yoghurt pots. Avoiding the production of 25,000 small plastic yoghurt pots.

• What is your ultimate goal?

Keep innovating! We launched our new cheese at the start of the school year: La Raclette de Saint-Ouen!

Want to taste organic camemberts from Fromaville?

Enjoy these delicious camemberts, lightly roasted and melting on our mustard camembert toast, accompanied by nuts on a slice of our toasted Nordic bread.

Discover our menu or order online in Click & Collect or Delivery

When? This Fall and Winter 2022 in our Parisian restaurants 

*Charron, Charonne, Lepic, Les Halles, Varenne, Victoires, Victor Hugo, Saint-Honoré

Paris, November 22nd 2022