Jean-Francois Antony is an affineur (cheese ager) and eleveur de fromages (cheese selector). He and his father Bernard are well known affineurs, with their own caves for ageing and ripening cheese. They are the men behind the famous Antony cheeses that are sold mostly only to Michelin restaurants.

Antony cheeses are found at a few restaurants in Hong Kong, including Caprice, which at the time of this interview had over 30 Antony cheeses in its cheese cellar. I met up with Jean-Francois at Caprice for a chat, and of course, a tasting.

What does a typical day involve?

Every day is quite different in many ways. Some of our important tasks are to find cheese, ripen the cheese and to sell the cheese. We also have a small shop, where we host Caveau de Degustation for four people at a time. We call this our 'cheese ceremony' and we present a wine paired five-course menu of cheeses, with cheeses increasing in intensity and age with each course. And, we also sell cheeses at our local markets three times a week. We like to keep this old style and are proud of our small village (in southern Alsace, France) so we think it is important to supply the cheeses locally in this way, as well as sell to Michelin restaurants.

We only have seven people in our company and we are also preparing orders every day. For example on Mondays we prepare orders for Germany, one of our biggest markets. The Hong Kong order is prepared each Thursday.

Of course, everyday involves the ripening, turning, washing etc of the cheeses.

We also work directly with the small cheese-makers who supply the cheese to us so maintaining close relationships is also important. We don't like to refer to these cheese-makers as suppliers. It is the cheese-maker that determines what we can produce. The quality has to be there in the first place for us to do our work, to produce exceptional cheeses you need to start with a quality product, and that comes from the cheese-makers.

You trained as a cheese-maker for two years, what did you gain from this experience that helps you to be an eleveur/affineur?

I dream of making cheese, and during this two year period I made many different cheeses. The experience gave me humility. You must have humility when making a cheese and do your best.

What skills do you need to do your work?

A good palate. A memory of how a cheese tastes is another.

Most importantly though, you need to have your own touch, your own philosophy. When my father started the business, he had no knowledge and no preconceptions, and that helped a lot. He had kept an open mind and as a result was able to develop cheeses that were new or different, for example our 4-year Comte; usually the ageing time is only 18 months maximum. It is still very much a Comte but it is another world.

Choosing the right cheese is vital. For every 100 cheeses we try we may only choose 2-3 and that is in a very good year. We only sell what we are really sure of.

Tell me more about selecting the cheeses and finding the cheese-makers.

How we choose the cheeses varies. For example there was a local cheese-maker who made okay goat's cheese for 20 years and then he moved to a different area, and whether it is the area, his new wife, or being in love, he now makes a fantastic goat's cheese.

Another time a cheese-maker saw a programme about us and wanted to work with us as a result. He contacted us and we fell in love with his cheese.

While a third example is the time when a respected and experienced food writer recommended a cheese-maker to us.

If we come across a cheese that is very good we will buy the whole production and will pay the cheese-maker a higher price than he wants and then next time the cheese-maker makes the cheese to our requests. To develop a lasting relationship you have to start with mutual respect, and respect for the taste. We only work with small production cheese-makers.

You age your cheeses in caves, what unique features does cave ageing bring to a cheese?

Every cave is different, each has its own atmosphere. This goes beyond temperature and humidity, each cave has many different organisms present that you largely can't control. These organisms are working, or having their own impact on the cheese, 24 hours a day, every day. This means that some of the cheeses unique characteristics are a result of the atmosphere.

How do you know when a cheese is perfect?

When a cheese is perfect depends, there are different levels of perfect. A cheese that you eat today will have a different sense of perfect than a cheese that needs to be sent overseas so that it arrives and is eaten when the cheese is perfect for eating. We also have to factor in things like humidity and time of the year in each location that the cheese is being sent as the seasons will also alter the cheese. This does add to the difficulty of our job.

How many restaurants around the world carry your cheeses?

There are 19 three-Michelin starred restaurants, 29 with two stars, 20 with one star, and five without. In Hong Kong our cheeses are available at nine restaurants, one of which is a private club. For us that is enough, we don't want to flood the market. Overall we can accept a few more clients, but only a few.

Which cheeses are in season at the moment?

Goat's cheese is at the end of the season, while sheep's milk cheese is in its prime. There are some cheeses that are available all year round, but the cheese's flavour will change depending on the time of the year.

Which cheese do you consider your signature?

It is difficult to choose as each cheese is different, and all of them are special with their own characteristics. Our 4-year Comte is often considered a signature and it is a special cheese, and we are the only ones to have this cheese. In Asia, this cheese is only available in Caprice. Jeremy (Caprice manager) has really done a lot of work introducing our cheeses to the market and as a special gift to him we gave him this cheese for the restaurant's collection. He is passionate about cheeses and understands how to respect them, care for them, and serve them, and this is very important.

Can you choose one cheese as your favourite?

My favourite cheese is one that although I may have tried 300 times already it goes beyond my expectations, it becomes my dream cheese when it goes beyond. Of the cheeses currently at Caprice (as of late November) I particularly enjoy the Tomme au Marc de Raison, the Comte de Garde Exceptionnel (author's note - a sensational, unforgettable cheese), and the Mont 'Or Boite.

Having to try cheese every day for a living do you eat cheese for pleasure?

Yes. It can be difficult sometimes but it is always a pleasure to eat cheese. I am very proud of what we sell and so when I eat for pleasure it is sometimes with a professional palate and mind. When I am relaxing with good friends it is more about pleasure. Sometimes friends are nervous to do a cheese board when I visit but I tell them not to worry because in these situations it is just about the personal enjoyment that comes from the pleasure of eating cheese.

For me the thing I love most about my job is that I can give people pleasure.

Can you offer any tips for enjoying cheese at home?

Don't serve cold cheese, great cheese should not be eaten cold. 

Have an open mind. 

Don't eat cheese when you are stressed. When you are stressed you can appreciate the cheese but you can't have the pleasure that comes from eating cheese when you are not stressed.

When eating cheese in a restaurant you need to be sure that the restaurant manages its cheeses well.

Images: All cheese images courtesy of Caprice.