I never met a cheese I didn't like

When Alexandre first introduced me to his dad, I was promised une tarte au maroilles before I went home. This was, of course, prompted by the fact that we'd just seen the Ch'tis movie, where the cheese "whose odor is stronger than its taste" played an important cultural role. Before I left on vacation, Jean-Michel told me to pick the night and he'd make me one. It worked out that we had our dinner on my last night in France.

According to Jean-Michel, there are two recipes for the tarte: one from Boulogne-sur-Mer, and the other from Thiérache, and since Maroilles is a cheese from Thiérache, the consensus in the household is that is the better recipe. Not having tasted the recette boulonnaise, I really can't compare, but I can tell you that this savory tart is probably the best one I've had all year.

It was a cheese-filled dinner, because after our salad we naturally had a cheese course: Camembert, Maroilles, and Boulette d'Avesnes, which Alex's friend Adrien and I agreed was "spéciale." According to cheese.com, this is a "traditional, farmhouse and creamery, fresh cheese made from cow's milk. It has a cone shape with natural rind given a dark red color by the use of annatto or paprika. This unusual cheese was originally produced from buttermilk and was made on farms as a by-product of buttermaking. The soft curd is kneaded and mashed with parsley, tarragon, pepper and paprika. The cheese is typical for spicy texture." Unusual indeed.