Tête de Moine AOP (literally “monk’s head”) is a specialty cheese with a history that dates back 800 years. It was first invented by the monks of Bellelay Abbey in Switzerland. A unique-tasting cheese with a unique serving style, Tête de Moine AOP is usually shaved into rosettes with a special cheese curling blade, or cut into small savoury chunks.

Its full flavour is thanks to whole, unpasteurised cow’s milk from dairy cattle that graze all summer on the spicy herbs and grasses of the Jura mountain pastures, and are fed a diet of fragrant hay from the same rolling meadows in winter. These cylindrical cheeses are produced in village dairies throughout the Bellelay area - a designated area of origin that earns this cheese its AOP status. The cheese is matured on spruce boards for approximately three months, which also adds depth of flavour.

This particular cheese is commonly eaten in wafer-thin rosettes, which are shaved off the cheese with a device called a Girolle or a Pirouette. These delicate shavings enable the full flavour of the cheese to develop, heightening the taste experience.