Roland Barthélemy, the cheese master who has Catherine Deneuve and the Elysee among his clients

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Roland Barthélemy's (1949) is a story of family and humility, "a professional and vital path" linked to the world of cheese where he is considered an eminence. "I have never considered myself the best, I am one of the best", points out serious and calm tone. Known as the

, since 1992 he has been president of La Guilde Internationale des Fromagers (the International Cheese Brotherhood), a non-profit institution created in 1969 by Pierre Henri Camille Androuüt, which held its second appointment in Spain after the pandemic.

The son of cheese-making parents, his curiosity about this world was awakened very early, when he was only 9 years old. He bought a dairy on Rue Grenelle in Paris "as a young bachelor" where he worked, researched and discovered incredible products from his country. His fame began to grow and his small business became a pilgrimage site for the Gallic capital. Among the regular customers of the place, the actress

and the various tenants of

, where she has been a supplier. "Entering the store was like a show, the curtain was raised and you entered a world of smells, flavors ...", he says, gesturing with his hands.

He remembers well the first day he closed that business at the age of 22. "There I discovered what freedom was, all that it could offer." His daily challenge was to show the cheeses he had acquired. "

". Behind all that there was a philosophy of life of the producers." There was an animal that lived well, that had been respected in a well-cared land, that had been fed correctly and that gave good milk, "he explains." Then there was an animal. person, generally a woman, who with all her love transformed it from a liquid to a solid condition, which is a great job. He has always taken care of human contact with his producers. "That allowed me to offer the best of each cheese to my customers."

Since then his figure and his fame have only grown in the gastronomic field. He has traveled all over the planet to continue learning from his passion and has the most important distinctions of his country in his curriculum, such as Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters and Knight of the Order of the Legion of Honor, among other. "

. And then I ask to understand the tastes of that person and be able to recommend them properly," he says sitting in a room in a central Madrid hotel. He compares it to the work of a couturier, who before making that dress, sees the attitude and personality of the person. "See the inside first, before the physical."

His eyes have long stared at Japan

. "25 years ago there were no cheese producers. A few years ago Japanese began to come to France, Italy and less to Spain to learn about the cheese tradition." And especially on the island of Hokkaido, "where their cows are very well adapted to the environment", they began to make their own cheeses. "They are very perfectionists in everything they do." In the Tokachi region, an area of ​​especially alkaline hot springs used special pots to make it. "Then they made a cave / cellar, with one environmentally friendly bricks, among 20 producers: there after cooling the water, they used it to wash and prepare the cheeses." Four years ago, Roland went to inaugurate that cave and awarded the first title in Japan of Protected Geographical Limitation to the Raclette Tokachi Onsen. "It is a very special cheese. "Now they have 260 varieties of cheese and hold their Japan Cheese Awards every year, where Guilde - and Roland - are always present.

He says that the best cheese is

."

Throughout his trips to Spain, he has seen how the perception of cheese has changed in our country.

"Now people are more open to trying cheeses from other countries. It is something that has also happened in France."

And this, he says, is always positive.

The Guilde Internationale des Fromagers returns to Spain

The objective of the International Cheese Brotherhood is to unite all the agents involved in promoting a healthy and gastronomic product such as cheese, including primary producers, industry, distribution, restaurants and disseminators. On November 2, personalities such as Lourdes Plana, president of the Royal Academy of Gastronomy; the chef Óscar Velasco with two Michelin stars; Abel Valverde, maître d 'and head of the Service in' Desde 1911 'of Pescaderías Coruñesas; Juan Manuel Bellver, journalist and director of Lavinia; Clara Diez, founder of Formaje; Enric Canut, one of the greatest cheese experts in Spain; Américo Ribeiro, general manager of Alcampo Spain; Alexandre de Palmas, general manager of Carrefour Spain;and Gemma and Mariona Cabestany, owners of Tot Formatge.

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