Tome des Bauges

The Syndicat Interprofessionnel de la Tome des Bauges (SITOB) is the Organisme de Défense et de Gestion (ODG) of the Tome des Bauges PDO (AOP) sector, based in Le Châtelard, in the heart of the Bauges massif, in Savoie. It unites the producers, cooperatives, artisans and affineurs who make this mountain cheese, and carries out four missions: defending the name, the product and the terroir of Tome des Bauges; checking compliance with specifications among operators across the sector; ensuring continuous quality improvement; and promoting the cheese to the general public. It is governed by a board of directors of 16 members, divided equally among three electoral colleges, and relies on dedicated commissions — organoleptic tasting, production conditions, cheesemaking technique, and communication.

On the ground, the quality of Tome des Bauges is verified at every stage, from milk production to the end of maturation: producers and processors carry out self-monitoring, SITOB conducts internal inspections across the sector, and the certifying body CERTIPAQ, accredited by COFRAC, conducts independent external inspections. The cheese it champions is produced in the Bauges massif, a regional natural park surrounded by the 'gateway towns' of Chambéry, Aix-les-Bains, Annecy and Albertville, a mid-mountain terroir from which it draws all its authenticity.

Fromageries Pochat & Fils presents itself as a family business of fromagers-affineurs founded in 1919 in Haute-Savoie. The company states that it operates several cheese dairies and direct-sales shops, working in collaboration with milk producers and partner farm producers within the Savoyard dairy sector. It matures traditional PDO (AOP) and PGI (IGP) cheeses from Savoie—with Tome des Bauges PDO cited as an example—as well as more recent creations.

Its catalogue of Savoie cheeses notably features Reblochon de Savoie PDO—including a farmhouse version—, Tomme de Savoie PGI, Abondance PDO, Beaufort PDO, Chevrotin PDO, Emmental de Savoie PGI, and Raclette de Savoie PGI, alongside house specialities such as Beaumont de Savoie.

The co-operative is listed by the Tome des Bauges PDO (AOP) syndicat as an ambassador cheese dairy, located in the Chef-Lieu of La Compôte (Savoie).

GAEC Le Bourgeal is a family farm in Entrevernes, in the Massif des Bauges, handed down through generations for several decades. The farm has around sixty dairy cows of the Tarentaise breed, taken up to high mountain pastures from mid-May to the end of September to comply with the 120-day annual grazing period required by the PDO (AOP) specifications — prompting the farm to equip itself with a mobile milking parlour that follows the herd as the pasture grows. All the milk is processed on site into Tome des Bauges PDO, complemented until 2023 by a goat's tommette and sérac from a herd of Alpine Chamoisée goats, a production that has now ceased.

The farm is counted among the ‘Ambassadors’ of the appellation's syndicate, which organises direct sales of farmhouse Tome des Bauges: visitors can buy cheese there all year round, from 8:00 to 12:00 and 17:00 to 19:00, with opening hours restricted to the morning only from June to September. The remainder of the production is sold through a network of cheesemongers, shops and wholesalers.