Fromagerie La Mère Richard
Founded in 1965 by Renée Richard, known as La Mère Richard, and at the Halles since 1971. Its page names Saint-Marcellin and Saint-Félicien as specialities and Paul Bocuse among the clients who built its name.
About Cervelle de canut
A fresh Lyon preparation rather than an aged cheese: fromage blanc beaten with chopped shallots, parsley, chervil and chives, oil, vinegar, white wine and seasoning, then folded with whipped cream, in the Observatoire des produits du terroir's recipe. The Observatoire stresses it is not offal despite the name and says it was a very important food of the canuts, the silk weavers. French Wikipedia finds the term already defined in Clair Tisseur's 1894 dictionary of Lyon speech, so the 1934 attribution to Paul Lacombe of Léon de Lyon can be questioned. The Observatoire lists Beaujolais AOC among its wines.
Made in: Lyon and the Lyonnais
On the plate
A cool, creamy, lightly sharp fresh cheese with shallot and herbs. The Observatoire rates it 4 out of 5 for saltiness, 2 for acidity and 1 for bitterness and sweetness. In Lyon, says French Wikipedia, it comes in a bowl with toasted bread and cooked potatoes, or dresses a frisée, rocket or dandelion salad.
Rind: none, eaten fresh
Wine and cheese
What to pour with Cervelle de canut
Beaujolais, red Beaujolais
Our pickThe Observatoire des produits du terroir lists Beaujolais AOC and Coteaux-du-Lyonnais among the reds for it. The cool, herby fromage blanc wants a fresh, fruity Gamay with modest tannin that does not fight the vinegar.
Beaujolais Blanc Beaujolais
Our pickFrench Wikipedia suggests a white wine, Chardonnay, with it. Beaujolais Blanc is Chardonnay, and a fresh, high-acid bottle answers the shallot, herbs and vinegar of the dish.
Chiroubles Beaujolais
Our pickChiroubles is a light, fresh Gamay cru with high acidity and little tannin. It suits the cool, lightly sharp fromage blanc with shallot and herbs, and its fruit does not fight the vinegar.
The grapes behind these winesGamayChardonnay
From the source
Where to buy and taste it
Maison Cellerier (Halles de Lyon)
The cheese counter of a Lyon house founded in 1890, now in its fourth generation by its own count. Its page for the Halles shop cites more than 350 cheeses, alongside charcuterie and a traiteur.
Fromagerie Mons Villefranche
Shop of the Mons house of affineurs on the rue Nationale, selling cheeses selected and aged by Hervé Mons, among them the local Bleu du Passeloup.
Cheese experiences nearby
Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse
Lyon's covered food market, whose own pages list four cheese counters: Beillevaire, Mons, La Mère Richard and Cellerier, and say Paul Bocuse bought supplies here for his restaurants.
Marché couvert de Villefranche-sur-Saône
The covered market of Villefranche-sur-Saône, a listed 1930s building reopened in December 2025 after a year of renovation. Rhône Tourisme lists cheesemongers among its traders.
Cervelle de canut: questions
Is cervelle de canut really brains?
No. The Observatoire des produits du terroir says it is not an offal but a specialty based on fromage blanc; the name comes from the canuts, the Lyon silk workers, for whom it was an important food.
What is it made of?
Fromage blanc beaten with a spatula, then finely chopped shallots, parsley, chervil and chives, oil, vinegar, wine, salt and pepper, and whipped cream folded in, per the Observatoire's recipe. French Wikipedia says fresh goat's cheese can also go in.
What else is it called?
Claqueret and tomme daubée, according to French Wikipedia, which says claqueret comes from beating (claquer) the cheese and that the dish derives from the older Lyon sarasson.
Which wine goes with it?
The Observatoire lists Beaujolais AOC and Coteaux-du-Lyonnais reds. French Wikipedia's article on Lyon cuisine says the bouchons serve their specialities, cervelle de canut among them, with a glass of beaujolais or côtes-du-rhône. The French Wikipedia article on cervelle de canut itself suggests a white wine, Chardonnay.
Same cheeseboard
More cheeses from Beaujolais
Plan the trip
Visit Cervelle de canut country
Tastings and tours where it is made, and somewhere to stay.
Beaujolais
Le Hameau Duboeuf: The 1st Vine and Wine Theme Park Tour
All 61 experiences in BeaujolaisBooking links go to our partners (GetYourGuide, Viator, Zen Hotels), who may pay us a commission. It never decides what we cover. Editorial standards.
Sources: www.lopt.org, fr.wikipedia.org. The drawing is made from the cheese's recorded shape, rind and paste, not a photograph.