Sèvre & Belle

The goat cheeses specialist

Founded in 1893, the Sèvre & Belle Dairy Cooperative is renowned for its ladle-molded raw goat’s milk cheeses. After its merger with the Echiré Dairy Cooperative in 2004, Sèvre & Belle is now part of the Laiterie Terre de Sèvre, an cooperative which promotes strong values, including respect, passion, high standards, know-how and Human valorisation.

Discover Sèvre & Belle official website

« Sèvre & Belle cheeses showcase the richness of our terroir and the exceptional work of our milk producers and our master cheese makers. »

Michel PapotGeneral Manager

1893

Year of creation

2200

Metric tons of production

Production site

1 AOP/ PDO

Chabichou du Poitou

66 MEDALS RECEIVED SINCE 1990

in national and international cheese competitions

2 gold medals for the Chevrot and Mothais sur feuille

awarded by the 2020 Paris Concours Général Agricole

MORE THAN A CENTURY OF KNOW-HOW

mastering the goat cheese manufacturing and ripening art

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Sèvre & Belle brand

Since the small dairy cooperative creation in 1893 at Celles-sur-Belle, the Sèvre & Belle brand has evolved well. Today it offers:

Ladle-molded goat cheeses made from raw milk
Slowly ripened goat and cow cheeses, made with pasteurized milk
Spreadable goat cheese with pasteurized milk
Pasteurized yesteryear butter with raw milk notes

Sèvre & Belle cheeses are characterized by:

Their yeasty bloomy rind
Their creamy to firm texture depending on the ripening time
Their natural and delicate flavors from the French terroir
Their recipes developed without additives or preservatives

Milk is renneted inside basins, in a traditional way. Part of the cheese production is manually ladle-molded. Their draining is slow and gradual, and the care provided by the master cheese maker is manually handle in the cheese cellar.

The Laiterie Terre de Sèvre

The Laiterie Terre de Sèvre is committed to five main principles:

Demand
Know-how
Passion
Respect
Human valorisation

With 65 cooperative members who produce cow’s milk and 55 cooperative members who produce goat’s milk, the human-sized cooperative collects its milk from animals fed without GMOs (<0.9%) within a 50 km / 31 mi radius around the dairy. This proximity and respect for animal welfare is essential for both milk and product quality.

IFS certification was implemented in 2015 at the Celles-sur-Belle site to ensure food safety control and to monitor the quality level of cheeses made from raw and pasteurized milk. It also meets the hygiene community regulations requirements.

Did you know?

Before becoming a region known for its quality milk, the Deux-Sèvres southern region of was a viticultural place. It was after the appearance of phylloxera in 1880 that this conversion took place. Indeed, the death of the vines led our Deux-Sévrians farmers to leave. It was the Vendeans who launched a new economy with milk production.

According to the legend, the AOP/ PDO Chabichou du Poitou name goes back to the 8th century when the Saracens were defeated in the battle of Poitiers. A few of them decided to settle in the area with their goats and created a cheese named “Cheblis” (goat in Arabic) which later became Chabichou.
The Chabichou du Poitou’s shape refers to the piece of wood once used to close wine barrels.

My name is taken from the term “hole” in the French Berry language in the 19th century.
Before, my name referred to the places on the rivers banks where laundry was washed. The clayey earth that made up these banks was used to create my cheese molds.
I am …. the Crottin!

France is the first goat cheese producer in the world.

Today, there are 120 different kind of goat’s milk cheeses, with different shapes and flavors.