Galopin – new kid on the block? No not really, they’ve been around for a while, under an other name and management. They used to be Ma Poule in Norway, at the Oslo Food hall, but they had to close down, and Galopin has arisen as a phoenix from whatever remained after Ma Poule. A scaled down concept, these days, which I think is more well suited to the market it is supposed to serve. However things were, I appreciated their presence giving more variety to the Oslo cheese scene. A bit of charcuterie as well. C’est tout.
A fine selection of cheese
My ideal cheese shop is of course a shop with only cheeses I have never tasted before. Perhaps not. But at leats a fine selection of “new” cheeses. On the other hand, I do understand that we all have a need for some cheeses we know well. A few favorites. A basic assortment, and I suppose the Galopin operates with that in mind as well. There are some cheese you expect to find every time, but I also want the “surprise me” factor. Some cheeses that you cannot find anywhere else. I cheer the idea of a narrow and consequent assortment. This is what we’ve got, and we’re good at it. That’s the idea behind OSTEPERLER as well. Just raw milk cheeses. Not unpasteurised cheese, raw milk cheese to the extent possible. That’s my hope for Galopin as well and that they will be rewarded for it. Small is beautiful.
While there I bought with me to cheeses I have never tasted before. Galet Boisé washed in walnut liquor. From the farm dairy La Ferme du Vinage just north of Lille on the Belgian border. I know the dairy, but not this cheese. It’s the ninth generation running the farm, by the way. The other one was a chèvre from the Poitou-Charentes region, called Tomme Villageoise. Western France, same region as Cognac. Then you probably know where this cheese hails from. I left as a happy man. And will be back of course, even though it is a slight detour from where I live.
Has Galopin the right assortment?
In my opinion they’re doing fine, but I have some wishes. Brie. They had Brie de Meaux. It’s a fine cheese and it’s famous. But there are others. Don’t need to have them all at the same time of course, but one or two additional would be great. Nangis, Fougerus, Fermier, Provins, Coloummiers and Melun for instance. And since they do their own import it should be an easy task. The challenge is of course if I am the only one looking for these other Bries. Be brave.
An other wish. That some of these Bries come matured the French way. With a slightly firmer core. There is a reason the French want their Brie this way, young. It has such a wonderful flavour. Milk and a fine acidity. Rind a bit crisper without the reddish spots.
Fromage – Charcuterie – Bar à vin
Bar à vin is not in place yet. When it is, you may sit down with a glass of wine and some cheese to taste.