What are your earliest memories of cheese?
Watching the cook prepare rennet for curd of Caille for Reblochon; you know how children like to help with any work around the house. I can still picture the ceramic bowl he used.

How did your appreciation for cheese evolve?
Growing up our neighbors had a farm, so I was always there, always drawn to the animals. Watching the workers on the farm, I got to learn more about the process. As a boy, on holidays at my uncle's chalet, he told me there seemed to be a mouse in the house since I had arrived. I couldn't keep away from the cheese. Anticipation comes with the change of seasons, you know, goat cheese in the summer and tomme in the winter; there is always more to appreciate about cheese.

What are your responsibilities as the Director of Affinage?
I treat the cheese like a baby; it needs to be pampered for days, weeks, months.

How important is the aging process?
It makes a world of difference; the temperature has to be perfect to achieve the right texture. Cheese is so delicate; it lets me know what I have to do, for example, if Roquefort is running it is crying and unhappy.

What is your favorite kind of cheese?
I have plenty of them; bleu de termignon, a very rare mountain cheese and also comte. I love it from the county where I was born; and goat like persille de tignes.

How much cheese do you eat daily?
I try not to eat any. In the cave, I have to taste so much every day; it has to be perfect for the consumer.

What is the best way to store cheese?
Don't store it, just eat it as soon as possible. If you absolutely must store cheese, never use plastic wrap, it needs to breathe; wrap it in butcher's paper. It will stay best in the vegetable drawer. The refrigerator is drying, and this will help keep it from getting too dried out; plus, vegetables should not give off too many odors that will infect the cheese.

Which countries or regions have the best cheese?
The mountains, especially of France. Cheeses aged above 800 meters are exposed to 100,000 micro-organisms; that's 10 times what valley cheeses are exposed to, so their taste is much more interesting. France has over 1200 types of cheese, comte alone has 84 flavors, Italy has about 500, and Spain only about 100; this makes a huge difference.

What is your favorite cheese based dish?
I like fondue made with Beaufort and Emental from Savoie. Gratins are nice; I love one my mother used to make with pumpkins. It's very simple, just salt, purée, and add cheese.

What do you like to eat with cheese?
Bread, it is good for fiber, and wine. I enjoy cheese with fruit, but you have to be careful about the acidity. Mediterranean grapes are okay because they are sweet, but most grapes are too tart; pears are perfect. I love a nice bleu on a leaf of endive, with a drizzle of olive oil to mellow the bitterness of the greens.

Which wine and cheese pairings do you enjoy most?
Clandestin, a washed-rind sheep and cow milk cheese from Quebec, with fermented iced apple cider. Reblochon with Beaujolais and bourboule with Bordeaux.

What health benefits does cheese provide?
Protein, calcium and joviality. A man, 71 years old, had cheese for dinner with his wife and told me cheese is better than any pill he could take. Cheese is so nice to enjoy, like alcohol without the negative; I don't know any cheesaholics.