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 Saint-Félicien
A soft cow's milk cheese of the Dauphiné: a flat cylinder with a white, flowery rind over a soft paste, 8.5 to 12 cm across, 2 to 4 cm high and 150 to 220 g. The Saint-Marcellin and Saint-Félicien committee says it is made from the milk of 150 dairy farms, lightly salted and sometimes enriched with a little cream. It has no protected name: a 2007 decree lists it as a soft cheese and, per French Wikipedia, producers filed an IGP application on 4 September 2023. French Wikipedia dates the first cow's milk Saint-Félicien to a trademark filed in 1956 by Marius Boucher of Villeurbanne. Maison Cardot lists it among its raw-milk cow's cheeses today.
Made in: Traditionally the Rhône, Ain, Drôme and Isère departments
On the plate
Soft, creamy and melting under a white, flowery rind, with a mild, sweet taste and light salt, according to the committee. French Wikipedia calls the cheese thicker, richer and creamier than Saint-Marcellin; the accords-mets-vins.fr guide to Saint-Félicien says slightly milky and sometimes nutty.
Rind: white bloomy rind
Wine and cheese
What to pour with Saint-Félicien
Crozes-Hermitage blanc Rhone Valley
Our pickThe accords-mets-vins.fr guide names Crozes-Hermitage blanc first in its answer on white wines for this creamy, slightly milky cheese. A dry Marsanne-Roussanne white raised in used barrels cuts the richness without the heavy oak or sharp acidity the guide warns against.
Beaujolais Blanc Beaujolais
Our pickA creamy, lightly salted cow's milk cheese under a white bloom, on the Lyon cheese board according to French Wikipedia. Beaujolais Blanc, a fresh Chardonnay with high acidity, cuts the richness of the melting paste.
Morgon Beaujolais
Our pickSaint-Félicien is soft, rich and creamy under a white rind. Morgon, a Gamay cru with fresh acidity and some structure, gives the cream something to push against, so the pairing stays fresh rather than heavy.
Tavel rosé Rhone Valley
Our pickThe accords-mets-vins.fr guide proposes Tavel rosé for Saint-Félicien, for its body and its red-fruit and spice aromas, a contrast with the cheese's sweetness. It advises serving rosé at 8 to 10 degrees C, which keeps the wine fresh against the creamy paste.
Crozes-Hermitage rouge (medium-bodied cuvées) Rhone Valley
Our pickThese medium-bodied Crozes-Hermitage Syrahs, raised in used oak, have bright acidity and moderate tannin. The acidity cuts the cream of a Saint-Félicien, and the tannin is gentle enough not to turn bitter against its mild, milky paste.
The grapes behind these winesGamayChardonnaySyrahMarsanneGrenache
From the source
Where to buy and taste it
La Chazère
Valence fromagerie with two shops, selling farmhouse raw-milk cheeses and running cheese tastings from June to September by registration in the shop. Named a Saint-Marcellin IGP ambassador by the consortium.
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.
Terra Cabra: Picodon ageing rooms and goat-cheese exhibition
A 200 m2 museum route on goat farming, milking and Picodon making, with films, educational workshops, fact sheets and the ageing rooms, above the Peytot ageing workshop. Individual tasting is free per the Ardèche Guide listing.
Fête du Picodon, Saoû
Two-day Picodon festival in Saoû on the third weekend of July, as the organisers put it; the 2026 edition was held in July. The Picodon syndicate also lists a Picodon festival in Dieulefit in August.
Guided visit and tasting at GAEC des Baratons
Guided visit of a goat dairy making Picodon AOP, with a free tasting; guided visits are compulsory for individuals and groups. Group rates start at 20 people, and groups can be up to 55.
Cheese tastings at La Chazère, Valence
Tastings of local cheeses at the Valence fromagerie from June to September, with registration at the shop.
Farm and cheese-room visit at GAEC Chez Amandine
Guided visit of a goat farm of about 100 animals and its cheese-making room, on reservation, for individuals and groups. The cheeses run from faisselle to Picodon.
Saint-Félicien: questions
Is Saint-Félicien a protected cheese?
Not yet. A 2007 decree lists it as a soft cheese, and producers filed an IGP application in September 2023, according to French Wikipedia. The committee says the IGP would tie production to a zone of 6 departments and 708 communes.
How big is it?
8.5 to 12 cm across and 2 to 4 cm high, weighing 150 to 220 g, according to the committee and French Wikipedia.
Who makes it today?
The committee's own site says the milk comes from 150 dairy farms, and Maison Cardot in Saint-Michel-sur-Savasse lists a Saint-Félicien among its cheeses.
Which wine goes with Saint-Félicien?
The accords-mets-vins.fr guide lists Crozes-Hermitage blanc, Roussette de Savoie, Mâcon-Villages or Viré-Clessé and Saint-Joseph blanc among its whites, and warns against tannic, oaky or very acidic wines.
Same cheeseboard
More cheeses from Rhone Valley
Plan the trip
Visit Saint-Félicien 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.fromage-saint-felicien.fr, fromagerie-maison-cardot.fr. The drawing is made from the cheese's recorded shape, rind and paste, not a photograph.
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