The Ina Garten-Approved Cheese Shop That Delivers To French Presidents
Ina Garten is a chef of many talents. After leaving her job with the White House, she and her husband took a leap of faith, becoming owners of the Barefoot Contessa food emporium (via Food Network). Garten began writing cookbooks and later sold the store to pursue a full-time TV chef-author career. Today, she continues to write cookbooks and hosts the "Barefoot Contessa" show on Food Network.
When traveling, Paris is her go-to destination. According to Insider, the city was actually responsible for sparking her culinary creativity, after she and her husband Jeffrey visited in 1971. Now, the couple visits the city every year for their anniversary, and Garten has even written a cookbook entitled "Barefoot in Paris," highlighting her favorite French cuisine and sharing recipes to bring a little bit of France to your home kitchen.
Jeffrey told Food Network that when they visit Europe and Ina enters the boulangeries (French bakeries, as per Le Cordon Bleu), he can see her "glow." She's also a fan of vendors specializing in fromage. In fact, one of Garten's favorite French cheese shops has quite the reputation — and is even popular amongst French presidents.
This is Ina Garten's favorite cheese shop
Ina Garten shared on Instagram that Barthélémy is her "favorite cheese shop in the world," along with a few photos of the cheese selection from inside the store. The shop is located near the Musée d'Orsay art museum in Paris, in the city's seventh arrondissement, according to Insider. Nicole Barthélémy has owned and operated the cheese shop for over half a century, though the shop had already been operating as a fromagerie for 50 years prior to her purchasing it.
In addition to being one of Garten's go-to stops, Insider reports that the fromagerie has also been visited by actresses Catherine Deneuve and Charlotte Gainsbourg. Bon Appétit reports that many French restaurants acquire their cheeses from the shop as well. But its most impressive customer? The Élysée Palace, home of French President Emmanuel Macron, enlists Barthélémy as its official cheese supplier. The fromagerie has worked with the government since 1973, as per Urban Insider, providing cheese for the dishes prepared and served in the palace.
The shop has a variety of different products
Barthélémy is a one-stop shop for everything needed to create the perfect charcuterie board, according to Bon Appétit. The shop's cheeses are organized by milk type and style, but you can also purchase jars of jam, honey, tomato sauce, bread, and wines to pair with them. Barthélémy is hands-on in the creation of its products: All of the cheeses sold in the shop are aged in-house, in the cellar under the shop, reports Insider.
Insider reports that the shop may be small, but it is teeming with products, nearly floor to ceiling. It even features a "wall of cheeses," with shelves covered in a variety of options. Customers can taste-test samples of many of the cheeses, and their aromas fill the air inside the store. Customers can purchase a range of expensive cheeses, as well as some more budget-friendly options.
Barthélemy is located at 51 Rue de Grenelle, 75007 Paris, and is open Tuesdays through Saturdays, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., when it closes for a break, then reopening from 3:30 p.m. until 7 p.m.