The specialist cheese company Cantina Guffanti with headquarters and ageing cellars in Arona (Italy) have been listed by the Wall Street Journal in 2010 amongst the Top Ten Cheese Shops in the world. The company has been maturing cheeses since 1876 in their spectacular underground maturing grottos, where the microclimate created by Lake Maggiore adds that “je ne sais quoi” to their italian cheeses.
Source: Wall Street journal , Cantina Guffanti
Poncelet - Punto Selecto focuses in a unique way on the world of cheese by bringing together cheesemakers, professionals and consumers, thus creating an atmosphere for discovery and appreciation of this product. In this way, they hope to provide cheesemaking artisans with first–hand knowledge of the tastes and preferences of consumers, fine-tuning the product to the demand, while at the same time allowing the consumer to acquire knowledge and discernment in their appreciation of cheese. The first Poncelet store specialising in both domestic and international cheeses opened in Madrid (Spain) in December 2004, the result of a genuine committment to becoming a reliable reference in the sector.
Stylish and unconventional LA FROMAGERIE is recognised as being one of the best cheese shops in England. You will find regional farmhouse cheeses with information on how to create the perfect cheese plate together with suggested wine pairings & other accompaniments. Both locations in central London (UK) feature cheese maturing cellars with on-site affinage and their signature walk in cheese rooms.
Source: La Fromagerie
In the Dutch gastronomy, the Betty Koster cheeses are renomated. Many chefs are buying their cheeses here or get inspiration. Betty Koster is considered an authority on cheese. We are talking here not just about a piece of cheese, Betty has three own climate refined cells where the cheese is perfect for ripening. The degree of maturity is realised according the customer wishes. From their store in Santpoort-Noord (The Netherlands), L'Amuse sells more than 400 types of cheese.
Source: L'Amuse
In the centre of Zürich (Switserland), there is a shop that is renowned throughout Switzerland and abroad. To connoisseurs, no.7 Münsterhof is synonymous with fine cheese. Chäs Vreneli has decades of experience in selling cheese, but behind its traditional shopfront you'll find a quality of service that is very much of the late 20th century. Its manager is Jürg Wartmann. He has developed his own highly distinctive retailing philosophy, selling natural, high quality cheeses portioned, packed and distributed all over the world, with the accent on freshness.
Source: Chäs Vreneli, The Wall Street Journal
In the late 1970s Nicholas Saunders set up a few businesses in Neal’s Yard, Covent Garden (London, UK). In 1979 on July 4th, Neal’s Yard Dairy opened selling Greek Style Yoghurts, Crème Fraiche and fresh cheeses. One of the cheesemakers was a youthful Randolph Hodgson, fresh from his food science degree, uninspired by the career route most food scientists were taking and looking for a job to tide him over until he worked out what he wanted to do. Luckily he found making and selling cheese fascinating and a couple of years later, Nick Saunders asked him to take over and become owner of the Dairy.