The Métin Cheese Factory, in Vence and Old Nice, offers 250 to 300 artisanal cheeses selected with passion, as well as gourmet products. Created by Thomas Métin, a former basketball player turned cheesemaker-affineur, the house combines expertise, quality, and authenticity.
First century – “The milk must have been recently milked and the rennet taken from an animal that has not yet grazed. You can also get a good cheese by throwing fig juice into the milk!” First lines on cheese making – recipe written by the agronomist Lucius Moderatus Columella in the treatise “De Re Rustica: The Things of the Countryside.”
2016 – First Métin cheese factory and dairy in Vence.
“As a former professional basketball player, our body needs good nutrients: cheese!” (Laughs) Thomas Métin. After a high-level sports career, Thomas is in search of new horizons. It is in New Zealand that he discovers his all-consuming passion for cheese! A passion born from his meeting with Master Cheesemaker Affineur Gilles Mereau – the first importer and distributor of cheeses – who imparted him with his expertise for six years. Returning to Europe, he became responsible for the cheese department at Harrod’s London. Then Paris, where he joined the prestigious houses of Laurent Dubois – 1st MOF cheesemonger in France – and Androuet in Paris, before taking the helm of the dairy department at Galeries Lafayette Gourmet Haussmann. A remarkable journey!
The artisanal production of cheeses and dairy products, the choice of producers, the fine and rigorous selection, the human contact… no longer hold any secrets for Thomas! Refined by his experiences, just like his gourmet treasures, he opens his shop in Vence, reflecting his image: character, quality, craftsmanship, and the pleasure of taste! Restaurants, high-end starred gastronomy, private events, individuals… Cheese lovers flock there! A real success; his brother takes over, allowing the opening of a second shop in Old Nice, for the lucky inhabitants of Nice!
With its rustic decoration, raw wooden furniture, soft lighting, a warm and smiling welcome, meticulous presentation, and the natural scent of cheeses… the store exudes an authentic mountain ambiance that invites gustatory pleasure!
In the store? Cheese, but not only!
A selection of 250 to 300 quality cheeses, 95% of which are French and 5% foreign, made from cow, sheep, goat, or buffalo milk. Traditional, regional, rare, rustic, and AOP cheeses, chosen with respect for agriculture and taste… And also offered are dairy products (yogurt, crème fraîche, butter), wines and champagnes, Corsican and Lyonnais charcuterie, the tangy Poilane cheese bread, homemade paninis, pasta, and fruit jams… A trinity of fine and gourmet pleasures selected with the strong passion and expertise of Thomas, like a Beaufort!
My selection?
Tome Aveyron, tome with Austrian sheep’s flowers, grand cru Emmental, gray Gavoton, sheep of the Roya, Bleu de Gex, smoked buffalo mozzarella, Sbrinz, extra-old Mimolette, and homemade truffled Camembert and Brie! Not to mention, crème fraîche, farmhouse butter, and homemade chocolate mousse. Delicious!
In conversation with Thomas Métin
Thomas, how do you select your cheeses?
“It’s a great treasure hunt to offer premium and responsible cheeses! This search begins in the field, by meeting producers at fairs and regional markets. We discuss their farming, their pasture, their values, their awards… then comes the decisive moment: tasting. The cheese must be fresh, have a beautiful color, be generous in fat — a sign of the richness of whole milk — and move me with its taste and authentic smell! That’s how I select our French (out of region) or foreign nuggets. For our local cheeses, I go directly to the producers, and they also come to meet me.”
You are a cheesemaker-affineur: what does the job of affineur involve?
To offer and store 250 to 300 cheeses each year within the store, we have a maturing cellar in the basement. It allows the conservation, protection, and maturation of cheeses in order to develop their aromas, characters, and textures. I accompany them over time by taking rigorous care of them: cheeses that have been matured for several months, for all tastes. A true expertise!
What makes you happiest in your job?
The human relationship. Interacting with the producers, learning from their expertise, and discovering the richness of their farm products; it’s enriching! The relationship with the customers: being able to advise them, sharing my passion, and mostly receiving their positive feedback after a tasting: I imagine myself at their table cutting the cheese and putting it in the mouth… this notion of pleasure in tasting OUR cheese! Also, I love the winter season with its raclettes and fondues: we offer five to seven different cheeses to delight all palates for a convivial moment!”
Fromagerie Métin
Address: 13 rue Pérolière – 06300 Nice
Phone: 09 88 07 67 37
Opening: Tuesday to Saturday from 9 AM to 7 PM – Sunday from 9 AM to 1 PM.
