‘Playful’ Swiss cheese marks record sales

The Monk's Head cheese is served in rosettes scooped with a special instrument. © Keystone / Christian Beutler

Switzerland’s Tête de Moine (Monk’s Head) cheese broke all-time sales and production records last year, due particularly to its “conviviality”, according to the sector’s president.

Tête de Moine sold 3,300 tons sold worldwide in 2022, up 3.7% on the previous year, despite a difficult economic climate marked by the strong Swiss franc and war in Ukraine. The main export markets are Germany and France, sector president Jacques Gygax said on Monday.

Gygax put this down particularly to good marketing. He said producers were particularly proud of the fact that it had become part of people’s customs in Germany.

But Gygax said it was also because of the “playful and convivial aspect” of this cheese, which is traditionally served in rosettes scraped off with a special tool called a “girolle”. The cylindrical form of the cheese represents the arc of the Jura in northwest Switzerland, where it has been produced for centuries at the Bellelay Abbey.

“It’s rather a festive product,” said Gygax. “Even in a gloomy environment, people still want to buy a Monk’s Head from time to time, to mark the occasion.”