The Cheese and I: An Englishman's Voyage Through the Land of Fromage

by Matt Feroze

How a British accountant went on sabbatical to chase a cheese dream, and ended up France's most talented cheesemaker Matt Feroze had a rather unusual to become a cheesemonger in the highly competitive French cheese industry. To accomplish this, however, he would have to make huge give up a good job as an accountant in England and say goodbye to his friends and family, moving to a country in which he struggled with the language and knew next to nothing about the profession he wished to enter. Yet only a year later he was being crowned Champion de France des Fromagers, beating veteran French cheesemongers to the title and opening up a wealth of new opportunities for himself. Here is the remarkable story of how he pulled off such an incredible feat. This inspirational tale of how one man sacrificed so much to realize his goal proves that, with enough determination, it is possible to achieve anything you desire.

Genres: Nonfiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published September 5, 2013

Reviews

[Megs · Rating 2 out of 5]

Those of you who know my love for cheese will know why I picked this book. The story line is interesting enough but the author is not a writer and this really leaves a lot to be desired, stylistically speaking. That as well as that you don't even get to read about the cheese experience until 100 pages in. Still glad I read it, though All in all I was disappointed by what I had expected to be an amazing read.

As a last comment to this book, the author frequently bad mouths the people who helped him and accompanied him on his journey. Bad enough to do this in general, but even more distasteful in the permanence of the written word.

[Lyn Quilty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book of you love cheese. Light holiday read. I enjoyed it.

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book. Incredible story, very well-written. I was laugh-out-loud funny too! Matt Feroze makes this such a pleasant, enjoyable, light read. I couldn't put it down. It goes into just enough detail on all the things that need it. I hope to be a cheese connoisseur someday, so of course the content was interesting to me, however, I think almost anyone would enjoy this fun book. Highly, highly recommended!

[Jessica Marquis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun and entertaining and I learned a lot about cheese. Highly considering looking into WWOOF, the program that gave Feroze his start! Goat farm here I come?

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant!

[Sockswebb · Rating 5 out of 5]

An impressive tale of dedication and achievement with the added bonus of the subject being about cheese. Factual and funny.

[Paul Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

It doesn't matter whether you like cheese, or whether you are a Francophile...you just have to enjoy a simple story of a man with a passion who followed his dream. Charming

[Eleanor · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love cheese and are interested in how they all evolved and are so different this is a great book.

[Matt Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely story, and a really nice guy. Plus lots of fantastic cheese info. Very inspiring.