While working on the production line at a yoghurt factory in the Dauphine region of France, south east of Lyon in the 1980s, Jean Claude Guilloteau had a eureka moment. He came across a new way of making yoghurt using a special technique called ‘ultrafiltration’ and so began his obsession with applying the same technique to cheese making. Or the next 10 years he made cheese in his home kitchen, aiming to perfect this new process. Not reaching the high standards he desired, he took himself back to school at the age of 40, to study engineering to refine the process further. Here he met scientist Professor Maubois and a friendship and business partnership began. From humble beginnings in the kitchen of his family home Jean Claude’s novel cobblestone shaped cheese stood out among other round cheeses and sales of this novel ‘Pave Dauphinois’ grew. The new technique not only preserved nutrients but also resulted in a very smooth, silky texture and soon larger premises were needed. Soon after moving to the new locations at Bellay and Pelussin, still close to Lyon in the Rhone Alps region, the name evolved into d’Affinois, a pun on its original name and ‘affinage’ the French word for the ripening process of cheese. Down under we affectionately call it ‘Daff’. This cow’s milk cheese is made in the small medieval village of Pelussin, surrounded by rolling green hills and lush pastures. It is a generous double cream cheese that has a thin white mould rind, and a paste that gradually develops a mild, sweet, creamy flavor. A silky mouth feel and creamy subtle flavour have made this cheese one of the world’s most sought after.
