Fromager affineur Philippe Olivier is known the world over. He's also a shrewd businessman.

Philippe Olivier, a name often heard on the radio, in the mouth of a certain Jean-Pierre Coffe. The latter sees this Boulonnais by adoption as one of France's greatest cheese ripeners.

This notoriety makes Philippe Olivier smile, as he continues to talk about his local products with the same passion and simplicity. Yet today, his business is flourishing all over the world. His cheese buffets take him all over France, when he's not dressing up as a lecturer or president of the Club des fromages ...

"I practically fell into cheese as a child", confides the cheesemaker with amusement. Born in Normandy, where Camembert is famous, he grew up in Dieppe, where his family's grocery and cheese store flourished. "I was doing a BEP in accounting. I wasn't thinking of working in the world of cheeses". And just as today he's keen to take the time to refine his products, his passion for cheese has matured: "I went to the creamery and cheese-making school in Paris in 1969, then spent two years travelling the roads of France as a journeyman. From there my passion for regional products was born.

Philippe Olivier has found his suppliers, but now he has to sell. As is often the case in his career, he's going to have the idea that makes the difference. "Cheese dishes are rarely featured in restaurants. So I thought I'd contact local restaurateurs and offer them a varied, well-decorated platter. In the evening, I would book a table and watch how customers behaved when they passed this prominently displayed tray. 80% took cheese."

The par works and its cheeses are found on the best tables in Boulogne,e-sur-Mer.

In 1980, two Michelin-starred English restaurants called on him: "From two, I grew to 25 establishments. Then we moved into Belgium, Luxembourg... I was worried, 20% of my business was based on exports. It was flattering, but at the same time, things were moving very fast."

Today, Philippe Olivier looks back: over 55% of his business is export-oriented.
"Everyone was going to Japan. I wanted to be there too. Only, I didn't have much money, even just to pay for the ticket." However, his ideas and initiative were to prove decisive. He took up his pen, wrote to the Japanese ambassador and, a few months later, the first gourmets in the Land of the Rising Sun were clamoring for him after the series of lectures he had given there.

From embassy to embassy, from major restaurant chain to major restaurant chain, Philippe Olivier now exports his cheese to Singapore, Dubai, Qatar ...

However, this success doesn't turn his head. What he loves most of all is talking to customers in his various stores and discovering new producers.

"Eating good food doesn't mean eating luxury food. I may sell my cheeses for 15-20% more than others, but they come from the terroir and I pay a fair price to the people who make them with respect. We don't mind saying it again. I've always been obsessed with explaining my differences."