In Beaufort country

Beaufort is a cooked pressed cheese, made from raw, whole milk. It has been recognized AOP (Protected Designation of Origin) since 1968. It is produced in the high mountain part of the Savoie department in the valleys of Beaufortain/Val d'Arly, Tarentaise and Maurienne.

According to Pierre Poccard Chapuis, happiness is in the mountain pastures. Especially in his own, in the Rossets valley, at more than 2000 meters.

“I represent the 4th generation of the family business,” he explains proudly. With his sister and his brother-in-law, he set up an alpine GAEC (joint farming group).

By talking with Pierre, we quickly realize that he is passionate. "Being an actor in the territory, going to the end of my job from the first bite of grass to the final product, it's really stimulating! Each year, we produce around 2,000 Beaufort wheels, 3,000 Tommes de Savoie and 2,000 raclettes.”
Moreover, the whole family is invested in the GAEC: his mother Marthe, although retired, his wife who keeps the accounts, his son and future partner Clément, his daughter Anaïs, a student in an agricultural college. Young people who spend the summer in the mountain pastures? “We like this work which is certainly hard, but which also gives us a lot of freedom. And that doesn't stop us from going down to party! they exclaim, smiling.

"And we can live from our work," rejoices Pierre. Gone are the days when crows flew upside down so as not to see misery! Every
day, Pierre chooses the grazing areas according to the maturity of the vegetation. To avoid trampling, he changes parks every day. A mobile milking parlor follows the herd.

The first milking starts at 3 a.m., the second at 2 p.m. It takes a good two hours to milk the 200 cows in the herd. Only the milk of two breeds of cows is authorized for the production of Beaufort: the Tarentaise (or Tarine) and the Abondance.

Then began the production of Beaufort, a cooked pressed cheese made from raw, whole milk. It has been recognized as an AOP (Protected Designation of Origin) since 1968. “You need 440 liters of milk for a 40 kg wheel. »

Every day you have to go down to the refining cellar in the valley.
Pierre still remembers when it was done on a man's back or on a sleigh. "Thanks to the concave shape of the heel, the grinding wheels could be strapped with hemp ropes and tied to the sled." It was a bit like the schlitte in the Vosges. Aging lasts at least 5 months.

The GAEC declines the Beaufort in three qualities.
The Beaufort chalet d'alpage: production from mid-June to the beginning of October when the herd is in the pasture. It is made twice a day with milk from a single herd.
Beaufort alpine chalet 18 months: from October to January, with a more pronounced taste.
Winter Beaufort: Crafted once a day, October through June.

Pierre in his cheese factory

Soon, Pierre and his taurines will leave the Vallon des Rossets and return to the farm at Chenarie to spend the winter there.

To taste the different products of the farm, head to the family creamery “Chez Marthe” in the heart of the old village of Peisey-Nancroix which also offers raclette, farmhouse tomme, whey cream and butter, serac, cottage cheese and yogurts from the farm as well as local products from the valley and the surrounding area.
To visit Pierre and his herd, you don't need to be a seasoned hiker. The Peisey Vallandry tourist office offers an easy outing: ascent by gondola, peaceful stroll to the mountain pastures before descending to Peisey.

The mountain guide invites you to discover the landscapes with their fauna and flora, pastoral practices, the work of farmers (breeding, milking, production of Beaufort).