France Fromages
Cheese stall and ageing cellar in the Halles de Tours, run by Hans and Adeline Krischer, with a counter built around goat cheeses from Touraine and neighbouring areas.
About Olivet
A soft cow's milk disc, about 11 cm across and 3 cm high, with a thin white down on the rind that picks up blue moulds as it ages. It is named for Olivet near Orléans and is documented as early as 1767 as Fromages d'Olivet, près d'Orléans. It is not a protected name, so the cheese varies by maker. Versions exist coated in ash, wrapped in hay, or crusted with pepper. Wikipedia notes that traditional farm production has stopped and that the cheese is now made by dairies, including in Indre and Calvados.
Made in: Named for Olivet, near Orléans in Loiret; Wikipedia notes modern production in Indre and Calvados
On the plate
A delicate milky flavour with hay, sage or pepper notes depending on the coating; a mushroom character develops with age. The paste is supple, fine and cream to pale yellow.
Rind: white bloomy rind
Wine and cheese
What to pour with Olivet
Traditional-method Loire sparkling (Crémant de Loire, Saumur brut) Loire Valley
Our pickOlivet is a mild, milky bloomy disc with hay or mushroom notes. Fine bubbles and brisk acidity in a dry, traditional-method Loire sparkling wine clean the palate between slices without covering them.
Vouvray pétillant (dry Chenin) Loire Valley
Our pickOlivet is mild and milky with hay or mushroom notes. A dry sparkling Vouvray, light-bodied with high acidity and a fine bead, clears the soft paste between bites, and its mineral finish keeps the delicate flavour in view.
The grapes behind these winesChenin BlancCabernet FrancChardonnay
From the source
Where to buy and taste it
Fromagerie du Puits Neuf
Saumur cheese shop in the Saint-Jean quarter, open since 1985 and under new ownership since 2023. It stocks nearly 140 cheeses, finishes the ageing of some in house and makes take-away platters.
Les Fromages de Camille
Cheese shop near Tours town hall, selling cheeses, dairy and fine groceries from producers that let their animals graze. It also makes platters and delivers by bike.
La Passion du Fromage
Amboise boutique of La Passion du Fromage, a group of shops mostly in Indre-et-Loire that advertises more than 300 cheeses and local products and offers click and collect.
Cheese experiences nearby
Foire aux Fromages et à la Gastronomie de Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine
Annual fair devoted to Sainte-Maure de Touraine AOP, with a market of regional food products, cheese competitions including the Chèvre d'Or, a mini-farm and entertainment. Free entry in 2026.
Halles de Tours covered market
Covered market of Tours, opened in 1980, where stalls such as the affineur France Fromages sell Touraine goat cheeses alongside bakers, butchers and wine merchants.
Tasting of five ageings of Crottin de Chavignol
A farm tasting of five ageings of Crottin de Chavignol, from fresh to dry, with either a glass of Loire wine or apple juice, at a goat farm a few kilometres from Sancerre.
Wine and cheese tasting at Dubois-Boulay, Chavignol
Wine and cheese tasting in the boutique of a Chavignol affineur: a single Crottin de Chavignol, or a cheese and charcuterie plate, in a shop that also has an ageing facility with explanations of the craft.
Guided visit of the Ferme de la Fringale
A guided visit of a goat dairy with about 150 milking goats, explaining how the herd is run and how Valençay and Selles-sur-Cher AOP are made, with cheese and wine tasting.
Visit of the Ferme des Chapotons goat farm
A visit of a working goat farm and Sancerre vineyard, free to walk round and guided on request, with the making of Crottin de Chavignol to see and a tasting in the shop.
Olivet: questions
Is Olivet a protected cheese?
No. French Wikipedia notes the name Olivet has no protection and can be used for cheeses unrelated to the original.
What are the types of Olivet?
Olivet bleu (natural, with blue mould on a white rind), cendré (ash), au foin (hay) and au poivre (pepper), according to Wikipedia and Le Guide du Fromage.
Same cheeseboard
More cheeses from Loire Valley
Plan the trip
Visit Olivet country
Tastings and tours where it is made, and somewhere to stay.
Loire Valley
3-day Private Loire Castles Trip 2 Wine tastings by Mercedes
All 280 experiences in Loire ValleyBooking 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.leguidedufromage.com, fr.wikipedia.org. The drawing is made from the cheese's recorded shape, rind and paste, not a photograph.