Holy cow: this cheese miracle happened to the monks of Cîteaux Abbey
The past year has seen a flood of calls to eat more at home of all the things that growers, makers, and suppliers could no longer sell to the hospitality industry because of corona. Potatoes, aubergines, Champagne, and much more; producers were at their wits’ end. And these French monks also found themselves in a serious predicament…
Because what have they been making (for almost a hundred years) in their thousand-year-old Burgundian Abbaye de Cîteaux? Raw-milk cheese, which normally finds eager buyers among restaurants throughout France and visitors who stop by the abbey itself. But since all of that disappeared, the monks unexpectedly and unwillingly found themselves surrounded by a surplus of FOUR THOUSAND cheeses. Could this really be His plan?
Not the smartest cows
Brother Jean-Claude had already tried explaining to their 75 cows that they needed to produce less milk, but they didn’t seem to understand, he told French news agency AFP. In desperation, and as a rare exception, they decided to enlist the help of a modern internet company: Divine Box, a website that sells products exclusively from abbeys and monasteries. And what happened?
Seeing green from the cheese
The goal was to sell 1000 kilos of the cheese, which is reminiscent of Reblochon cheese from Savoie. This would save an important portion from ending up in the landfill, because the monks and their neighbors had probably already eaten themselves round on cheese boards with Trappist beer.
Hallelujah
Whether it was divine intervention or simply a rock-solid marketing plan, within 24 hours online customers had ordered more than 2000 kilos of that fantastic cheese! The brothers themselves were still a little stunned. “Normally, we don’t take orders this way, but now we’re selling to people in Dubai, Tokyo, and Hong Kong,” Jean-Claude told AFP. In any case, praise the lord, because those cheeses have been saved!
Read also:
- Corona crisis: in Belgium, they have to eat fries twice a week
- More cheese needs to be eaten in France
- Cheaper Champagne this year? That could very well happen, and here’s why
Source: AFP
