Charles de Gaulle famously said it was impossible to govern a country with 246 different cheeses. And perhaps he was right. Every French cheese carries an essence of the place where it’s made – its history, identity and landscape. Sometimes that’s a physical thing, as the hard texture of Comté echoes its rugged Alpine home. Other times it’s about power and politics – Brie swelling to royal dimensions due to its proximity to the French court, or Camembert gaining national status after being supplied in patriotic boxes to First World War soldiers.

In A Cheesemonger’s Tour de France, Ned Palmer wends his way around the country’s regions, meeting the remarkable cheesemakers who carry the torch for France’s oldest and most intense traditions. As he explains the mysteries of terroir and why each of those different fromages taste as they do, he shows that a French cheeseboard offers genuine insights into la Belle République.