Average consumption in France is 24 kg per person per year. In our region, that figure is around 30 kg. So yes, we're big consumers, and that's because we eat it at several meals, particularly breakfast.

Maredsous: when monks hand over...

If France is the land of cheese, Belgium is no exception. And often, the name of a Belgian beer is associated with that of a cheese. Take Maredsous, for example. The abbey stands on its solid grey stones in the middle of a magnificent plateau, the proud image of more than two centuries. The northerly wind creeps through the alleys between the church, the chapel, the Collège Saint-Benoît and the multitude of buildings that make up the abbey (including the cheese factory). But nothing seems to disturb the serenity of the place. Not even tourists. And yet there are 400,000 of them every year! But the monks of Maredsous - sadly dwindling in number to just thirty or so today - know how to preserve their contemplative spirit. There was a time when these monks were busy, between spiritual and intellectual work, maturing Maredsous cheese. While the beer of the same name has never been produced on the abbey site, the cheese has always been matured there. A soft cheese, "of the Port-Salut or Gouda type, with a special feature: it is matured naturally, without the addition of ferment or salt", explains Mr Bethuer, technical manager of the cheese dairy. The days of "monastic maturing" are long gone. In the 60s, the business was handed over to Belgian families. Then, in 1991, it was taken over by the French industrial giant Bel, producer, among others, of La Vache qui rit and Babybel... The product's image could have been tarnished. Because in Belgium, or on this side of the border, in the collective imagination, an abbey cheese is inevitably linked to monastic activity. To the charm of tradition. But today, the monks, who continue to receive royalties on the cheese - and on the beer, too, for that matter - have little say in the brand's image. Despite all this, Maredsous is still as successful as ever, with some 1,200 tonnes of the product in its original form leaving the cheese dairy every year. And that's not counting the innovations and other products matured at the abbey. In all, over 5,000 tonnes of cheese are matured at Maredsous every year. "The Maredsous brand still has a connotation of quality in Belgium," notes Mr. Bethuer. It's even the leading brand in Belgium. "Its image is, of course, all about the abbey. Calm, serenity and contemplation are the hallmarks of good taste. And even if an industrial giant is behind this production, visitors and fans of Maredsous will reply that the age-old setting of the maturing process is (almost) everything... B.B.