Tete de Moine is a raw milk cheese made in the north-western part of Switzerland close to the French border. It is a semi-hard cheese with a silky body which easily melts in your mouth. It is not cut, but pared into the shape of delicate rosettes. The paring technique increases the amount of air coming into contact with the surface of the cheese, altering the structure of its body and allowing the full flavour to develop, this give the cheese an even more delicious taste. Rosettes are best pared when the cheese is taken right out of the fridge.

The cheese is pared with a blade held at right angles to the surface, using the same method as that employed by the monks of the Bellelay abbey. Tete de Moine is often shaved using a special cutter called a ‘Girolle’.