Cantal

Société Fromagère de Riom presents itself as a cheese maker established in the heart of the Auvergne PDO (AOP) cheese appellation areas, in Riom-ès-Montagnes, in Cantal. It offers a free guided tour explaining its production processes, featuring a panoramic view over one of the region's largest Cantal maturing cellars, followed by a tasting of the five Auvergne PDO cheeses, including Bleu d'Auvergne PDO.

Free tours and tastings run from 9 July to 1 September, every day except Sunday. Retail sales continue year-round, from Tuesday to Saturday (closed Sunday and Monday), with reduced opening hours outside the summer season.

The company presents itself as a maker and affineur since 1911, a venture begun in 1904: its first Saint-Nectaire cheeses were matured in Clermont-Ferrand from 1911, before the manufacture of Cantal PDO (AOP) was established at its Saint-Flour dairy. It offers Auvergne cheeses (Saint-Nectaire, Cantal, Salers, Bleu d'Auvergne, Gaperon) and Pyrenean cheeses (Petit Bethmale, Tomme Prestige). A new production facility for Cantal PDO there was co-financed by the European Union under the FEADER.

The company describes itself as the master affineur of the brand L'Empereur, maturing and marketing Auvergne PDO (AOP) cheeses — Cantal, Salers and Saint-Nectaire — in the heart of the Parc naturel régional des Volcans d'Auvergne, in Cantal. It also indicates that it offers a range of fresh and dairy products, and operates a direct-sales shop, La Cave de Marcel.

It dates its beginnings to 1967, starting with dairy delivery rounds that evolved over the decades into maturing the region's emblematic PDO cheeses. It claims more than 12,000 m² dedicated to its operations, blending traditional maturation methods with modern facilities that meet current standards.

In the hamlet of Maruéjouls, in the commune of Polminhac, within the Salers PDO (AOP) zone, Yannick Navarro established the GAEC with his father Henri in 2007. Supporting two families on a quota of 360,000 litres of milk delivered to the dairy looked difficult; in 2009, the collapse in milk prices prompted the decision to process part of the production into Salers, sold en blanc to affineurs. Production began in autumn 2010, following a complete overhaul of the forage system — abandoning maize silage in favour of grazing — and the construction of a workshop and an ageing cellar, which was extended in 2015.

Today, the farm keeps 60 dairy cows in the village of Maruéjouls and processes their milk on site into hay-milk Cantal PDO and Salers PDO, both aged in its own cellar. It has obtained the 'lait de foin' certification, which guarantees a diet based on grass and hay, free from fermented feed and GMOs. The farm's pigs, fed on whey from the cheese dairy, are processed into charcuterie and fresh meat in an approved facility. The shop also offers, from partner producers, Saint-Nectaire, Bleu d'Auvergne and Fourme d'Ambert PDO — sold at the farm and at local markets.

The farm's Cantal or Fourme de Cantal fermier entre-deux was awarded a silver medal at the 2026 Concours Général Agricole, in the National Dairy Products category.

Fromagerie Duroux presents itself as a four-generation family business founded in 1936 by Louis Duroux, specialising in cheesemaking and maturing, and based in the village of Rilhac-Xaintrie in Corrèze. The website highlights four core activities carried out by the house: milk collection from local producers, cheesemaking, maturing and professional distribution.

The house states that it makes and matures Cantal PDO (AOP) in its three stages — jeune, entre-deux and vieux — as well as Salers PDO, Fourme d'Ambert PDO and Saint-Nectaire (farmhouse and dairy) PDO, alongside its own specialities such as Tome de Rilhac, Pavé Corrézien, Tome de brebis, 'Père Louis', Bleu Sélection Duroux and churned butter. An on-site shop allows visitors to discover this range.

The farm describes itself as nestled at an altitude of 900 metres in the lieu-dit of Pignou, in the commune of Albepierre-Bredons, at the foot of the Plomb du Cantal, in the Alagnon valley. It farms 50 hectares of natural meadows there for a herd of 40 Montbéliarde cows, which graze outdoors all summer — a diet described as giving the milk its characteristic flavour — and return to loose housing in winter.

The farm produces three PDO (AOP) cheeses — Cantal, Salers and Bleu d'Auvergne — as well as several house specialities: le Pignou, a small farmhouse blue cheese; le Saint Timothée, a mountain tomme matured in beer and also available with hazelnuts; a cheese with nettles; farmhouse yoghurts; and a tome fraîche. Sales are made directly at the farm, in the shop open from Monday to Saturday, as well as online. Visitors can discover the farm through a farm tour, a cheese tasting, or a curd-making workshop designed for children, bookable through the tourist office.

GAEC Gemarin runs a farm in Saint-Hippolyte, in Cantal, in the heart of Salers cattle country. The farm features on the official list of farmhouse producers authorised to make Cantal PDO (AOP), published by the Cantal departmental tourism board, alongside other farms from the same terroir.

Its Salers PDO, matured by maison Duroux, won a Gold Medal at the Concours Général Agricole de Paris 2026, in the Auvergne PDO cheese awards — an accolade that confirms the savoir-faire of this Cantal farmhouse holding.