Gillot Camembert... mmmmm

Oh, the Camembert...

Okay, so back in the states, we had "camembert" -- a sort of semi tasty but a bit rubbery brie-like thing. Well, okay, maybe it was a bit headier than brie, but, eh. okay. It was better heated.

On the Air France flight over, we had the French President brand of Camembert. Okay, maybe a bit more flavorful, but, eh.

Then at L'Ardoise, Pierre Jay's fabulous little restaurant near the Tuileries, we had a stellar cheese course, with a wonderful Camembert that melted in the mouth.

But then, we drove out to Normandy and passed through the little town of St. Hilaire-de-Briouze. Really, it's not even a "little town" as the real little town is Briouze. St. Hilaire-de-Briouze isn't even on most maps and it seems to consist of the four houses on the outskirts of Briouze. Oh and the Maison Gillot laiterie, whence comes the artisanal Camembert that won the Concours Generale Agricole de Paris' gold medal.

Oh yum.

OH YUM.

You can buy it for 2.50 Euros in Briouze's equivalent of the local Safeway supermarket.

Not knowing what we had in our hands (silly us) we carried it all the way to Mont St Michel, planning on a little midnight snacking. Midnight found us in our hotel room with one plastic spoon between us, digging madly at the little round of the best damn cheese you ever put in your mouth. Oh, so good, you want to smear it all over yourself and lick it off.

Where can you get some, you ask? Well, here's the thing, we here in the States are not permitted to have real Camembert. Yes, the Department of Homeland security actually has a BUDGET to keep French raw-milk cheese from making it over the border. Explosive taste? Yes. Terrorist threat, hmmmm.... not so much.