Meet an award-winning organic goat cheese maker in Burgundy

Claire Genet has been running La Ferme de Claire in Saint-Bris, just outside Auxerre in the Yonne, since 2020. “I have always loved animals and always wanted to have a goat farm just like in Manon des Sources. So I’m living my dream,” she says.

“I am an independent producer within an ‘écosystème’ called ‘Ultéria’, which is made up of other organic producers. We collaborate but each of us runs an independent business.”

Originally from Burgundy, Claire studied agriculture and cheesemaking in Beauvais, Poitiers, Australia and Rennes before setting up her dream farm. She now has around 180 purebred Alpine goats which she chose for the quality of their milk. She knows them all individually. “You can milk them for two years before they need to be bred again, and we have our own bucks. We sell most of the kids, but we keep some
to replace older goats.”

The herd lives outside but has to be milked twice daily. “They queue up at the gate automatically at milking time. They like coming inside because the building is insulated so it’s nice and cool in the summer.”

Their pasture is supplemented with a variety of other feed produced by the écosystème. “The idea is to make use of everything so there is no waste. The system is designed to be fully circular.”

An award-winning fully organic farmer, Claire won the gold medal this year at Le Mondial du Fromage et des Produits Laitiers in Tours. “I have three employees, and the four of us do everything. We host 1,500 children visiting the farm on educational visits every year. They are open to everyone, and we run events all year round. (See the website for details.)”

Claire produces a wide variety of cheese, including bûchettes, faisselle, tomme, Panna Capri and Morbi-Chèvre, as well as chocolate cream desserts, fruit yoghurts and individual rice puddings.

“We sell to Michelin-starred restaurants and gourmet cheese shops as well as direct to the public at our boutique. We stock a wide range of other locally made products, our cheeses and yoghurt, and we have started making goats’ milk ice cream. So far we make vanilla, chocolate and strawberry flavours but we plan to expand the range in the future.”