Meet ICR 2023’s expert maturers: Mons Cheesemongers

Mons Cheesemongers was originally started in France in the 1950s from the back of a van by founder Hubert Mons. After nearly a decade of accruing knowledge about producers and farms, he began sourcing artisanal cheeses from his native region of The Auvergne and sold them at local markets with his wife, Rolande.

In the 1980s, Hubert and Rolande’s two sons Laurent and Herve joined the family business, with Laurent taking over the shop and Herve overseeing cheese ripening and developing sales in international export.

The UK iteration of Mons Cheesemongers was launched after a meeting at Slow Food’s cheese festival in Northern Italy, where Herve Mons and Jon Thrupp began working closely together to bring the family’s cheeses across the Channel. Consequently, Mons Cheesemongers opened its first British venture in 2006 at Borough Market.

Focus on raw milk
Now, with a range heavily focused on raw milk cheeses, the family selects traditionally made Continental and British cheeses and ages them in their cellars in London and on the Cote Roannaise.

It is their carefully curated maturing room that makes Mons Cheesemongers stand out in the world of cheese retail.

Laurence Lindars, store manager, tells Inspirational Cheese Retailers, “There aren’t many cheese retailers that also work as maturers or affineurs; our shop in East Dulwich is both a climate-controlled maturing space and a regular shop. By having that level of control over the maturation of the cheese we work with we’re able to make sure it reaches our customers in just the right condition.

“We’re also in regular contact with the producers and cheesemakers. Whilst our customers don’t necessarily need to know the name of a particular producer’s favourite goat, being able to paint an honest picture of the work and people involved in the journey of cheese from a farm to the customer’s table is hugely important to us.”

It is this passion for the journey of farm to fork that gets the team going in the morning. As Laurence explains, his modus operandi is to do justice to the Continental and British predominantly raw-milk cheeses they select, mature and sell. “This comes from creating a warm and unintimidating shopping experience where customers can learn about and taste our cheese as we help them pinpoint the products that they want to take home.”

Find out what’s in store for Mons Cheesemongers in the year ahead and meet our other Inspirational Cheese Retailers 2023 by downloading your free copy here!