There is nothing ordinary about the French craftsmen who have earned the prestigious title of Meilleur Ouvrier de France. (Best Craftsman of France)
This unique award isn’t bestowed or gifted; it is a contest for professionals with special abilities in various categories of trades. It’s about the best of the best, the “crème de la crème”. In France the title is taken extremely seriously and so highly regarded, that you can face jail time for pretending to have attained Meilleur Ouvrier de France.
It is a contest against self, a contest of obtaining near perfectionist standard. All or none of the entrants could win the title. Candidates need a Zen like approach to the competition, not only is it about creating a masterpiece in an allotted time given the basic materials; it about technique, method, organization, art, savoir faire and respect for the rules of the trade. Months and years can be spent in intense preparation.
The list of skills has grown since its inception in 1924. An administrative body; Organizing Committee for Labour Exhibitions (COET) was created in 1935 to be responsible for the material organisation of the “Meilleur Ouvrier de France” competition which is held every four years and conclude with a national labour exhibition. COET is under the authority of the French Ministry of National Education, any French citizen from the age of 23 can compete by payment of a small entry fee.
It seems the French know how to celebrate the extraordinary, to honour the most skilled. You need only look at the list of skills to glimpse what the French hold near and dear.
1. Métiers de la restauration (Catering Professions)
2. Métiers de l'alimentation (Food professions)
3. Métiers du bâtiment, des travaux publics, du patrimoine architectural (Building, public works and architectural heritage professions)
4. Métiers de l'habitation du textile et du cuir (Textile and leather housing trades)
5. Métiers de l'habitation-bois, ameublement (Wood housing trades, furniture)
6. Métiers des métaux (Metal trades)
7. Métiers de la métallurgie et de l'industrie (Metallurgical and industrial professions)
8. Métiers de la terre et du verre (Earth and glass professions)
9. Métiers du vêtement (Clothing professions)
10. Métiers des accessoires de la mode et de la beauté (Fashion and beauty accessories professions)
11. Métiers de la bijouterie (Jewellery professions)
12. Métiers des techniques de precision (Precision technology professions)
13. Métiers de la gravure (Engraving professions)
14. Métiers de la communication, du multimédia, de l'audiovisuel (Communication, multimedia and audio-visual professions)
15. Métiers liés à la musique (Music related professions)
16. Métiers de l'agriculture et de l'aménagement du paysage (Professions in agriculture and landscaping)
17. Métiers du commerce, des services et de l'hôtellerie (Trade in commerce, services and hospitality)
In amongst the categories you will find; Cooks, Sommeliers, Butchers, bakers, Chocolatiers. Carpentry, Plumbing, Masonry, Boiler making, Blacksmithing, Pottery and Glass blowing.
Milliner, Hand embroidery, Jewellery making, watchmakers, Engraving, Calligraphy, Violin making, landscaping and even newer trades such as Digital imaging.
The big name recipients that stood out for me as a young Chef coming through the culinary ranks, are the giants of gastronomy. Paul Bocuse, Joël Robuchon, Roger Vergé, Michel Roux, Alain Ducasse. These chefs are marked by the right to wear the blue-white-red collar on their chef’s jacket.
Meilleur Ouvrier de France is a big deal.
On our first days outing with Sue Sturman’s Paris for Cheese Professionals program; we toured around cheese warehouses of Rungis International Market, the wholesale hub of Paris. The place is HUGE, 327 hectares of food and horticultural products.
This is a fitting setting to meet Ludovic Bisot Meilleur Ouvrier de France, fromager. A title he won in 2015.
For the first 20yrs of his working life, Ludovic was a strategy consultant in the world of commerce. Taking a radical change of direction at age 43 in 2009, he retrained as a cheesemaker-refiner. The French call this “reconverti”. This makes his Meilleur Ouvrier de France win 6yrs later all the more extraordinary.
After his internship at Federation des fromagers de France , his training into the world of fromage, he under took a “Tour de France” visiting around a hundred producers and retailers of cheese and dairy products, gaining invaluable knowledge , he then settled down in Rambouillet opening “Tout un fromage” in 2010. In 2013 he started preparing for Meilleur Ouvrier de France, two years of early mornings, diligently training every day, before working the counter at his cheese shop.
Ludovic has a boyish energy about him, his passion for fromage is evident in the way his face lights up when talking about cheeses he has had a hand in creating or reviving. There was no need for trope questions about favourite cheeses.
He willingly expounded on the story of Le Fermier au Chablis. A cheese from his childhood in Burgundy, like a small format Soumaintrain that has been washed in Chablis solution, which he noticed, after his “reconverti” had declined in production. With the help of his friend Pascal Leroux, they resurrected the cheese, testing recipes until it matched Ludovic’s taste memories.
The joy of Ludovic describing Pavé de Paris, designed to look like a Paris cobblestone with its ashed rind, and label that looks like the iconic Parisian street sign, the interior of cow and goat cheese combined as soft curds then semi-pressed to create a marble look.
He is the ambassador for Soumaintrain, which obtained IGP (Protected Geographical Indication) label in 2016, a soft cow’s milk cheese made in the Bourgogne region, regular washing during maturation make it become creamy with a chalky orange rind. Similar to Époisses, however, Soumaintrain is only washed in salt water and not in Marc de Bourgogne alcohol, imparting a more subtle flavour. Sold in wooden boxes to contain its runny interior.
This enthusiasm, passion and delight in cheese heritage and his selfless imparting of knowledge leave no surprise that he cofounded Collectif Fromaginare, the impetus of which, in 2016, formed an association La Ligue des Fromagers Extraordinaires, The League of Extraordinary Cheesemakers whose mission is to “renew and modernize communication about cheeses”.
The membership is made up of some serious cheese gurus; 8 Meilleur Ouvrier de France, a world champion and two “1st cheesemaker of Belgium”. Naturally, of course they have created their own cheese. Tomme au Thé rouge.
Ludovic Bisot and Meilleur Ouvrier de France are the essence of excellence, indeed an extraordinary level to aspire to.
Part of “The people you meet in Paris” series by Cheesemonger Jeanette
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