100 years of history
1921
Henri Germain, accompanied by his wife, moved to Chalancey in the Haute Marne region where he set up his cheese production dairy. Backed by considerable family experience with cheese-making, he embarked on the production of soft-ripened cheeses.
1960
Mr. Germain decided to introduce a more comprehensive quality policy: he chose to use only the milk produced by rare breeds of local cows for its excellent suitability in the production of cheese. The milk collected rose from 5,000 litres to 11,000 litres in fifteen years or so. During the same period, Mr. Germain gambled on the solution of direct contact between his dairy and the end customer. So he invested in a small delivery truck and set off across the roads of the region.
In the sixties
On the death of his father, Pierre Germain took over the reins of the dairy. To develop it, he decided to start testing the production of Langres and then Epoisses cheese (in the early Seventies). To do this, he had to learn the old ways of making these cheeses from the few farmers’ wives who still knew the techniques.
1991
An AOC (certified origin) classification was obtained for the Langres and Epoisses cheeses that became the spearheads of Fromagerie Germain. It was the result of over ten years’ work by regional cheesemakers, including Pierre Germain. Constantly seeking quality and perfection, they embarked on the application of more advanced specifications with the aim of obtaining PDO certification. This was achieved in 1996 for Epoisses and in 2012 for Langres.
1994
As Pierre Germain did not have a family member to take over, he wanted to sell the dairy. This came about one year later when it was taken over by Hubert Triballat, whose family business is located in the Cher region.
2015
The business was so successful that the decision was made to build a new dairy in Vaux-sous-Aubigny close to the original one (Chalancey). Company values, respect for tradition and quality have been the bywords of the Germain dairy for close to 100 years. At Chalancey or a few kilometres away, cheese-making expertise has been preserved.
2018
The new cheese dairy was inaugurated in Vaux-sous-Aubigny. A boutique and an exploration trail have been added, don’t hesitate! Come visit us!
