Président (cheese)
Encyclopedia
Président is a French cheese brand owned by the Laval
based Lactalis
company. The brand was created in 1968 by André Besnier. It is used for butter and for a range of industrially produced versions of traditional cheeses.
.)
Laval, Mayenne
Laval is a commune in the Mayenne department in north-western France.It lies on the threshold of Brittany and on the border between Normandy and Anjou. Its citizens are called Lavallois.-Geography:...
based Lactalis
Lactalis
Lactalis is a multi-national dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. It is the third largest dairy products group in the world, and is the second largest food products group in France, behind Danone...
company. The brand was created in 1968 by André Besnier. It is used for butter and for a range of industrially produced versions of traditional cheeses.
History
The brand was created in 1968 by André Besnier who by then was already a leading figure in the French dairy business. Explaining the name's French context, Besnier explained that "France is a nation of presidents: [almost] everyone is a president of something ... of a fishing group, a ball game team, of old soldiers". « La France est le pays des Présidents, tout le monde est président! De l'association de pêche, des boulistes, des anciens combattants. » (Presidential government had also enjoyed a higher profile in France since the return to power as president, in 1958, of leading war hero Charles de GaulleCharles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
.)
Landmark dates
- 1968 : Launch of Président CamembertCamembertCamembert is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France.It is most famous as the place where camembert cheese originated.Camembert has been called "The largest small village in France." This is because the area of the commune itself is out of proportion to the center of the village...
. - 1972 : Launch of Président CoulommiersCoulommiers cheeseCoulommiers is a cheese from Coulommiers in the Seine-et-Marne department of France, is the lesser-known cousin of Brie, although it has been produced perhaps longer. It is made from cow's milk, usually in the shape of a disc with white, bloomy edible Penicillium candidum rind...
. - 1972 : Launch of Président ButterButterButter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying...
. - 1975 : Launch of Président BrieBrieBrie is a historic region of France most famous for its dairy products, especially Brie cheese. It was once divided into two sections ruled by different feudal lords: the western Brie française, corresponding roughly to the modern department of Seine-et-Marne in the Île-de-France region; the...
. - 1991 : Launch of Président EmmentalEmmental (cheese)Emmental or Emmentaler is a cheese from Switzerland. It is sometimes known as Swiss cheese in North America, Australia and New Zealand, although Swiss cheese does not always imply Emmentaler....
range. - 1993 : Président sells its billionth CamembertCamembertCamembert is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France.It is most famous as the place where camembert cheese originated.Camembert has been called "The largest small village in France." This is because the area of the commune itself is out of proportion to the center of the village...
. - 1995 : Launch of Président brand in GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and USA - 1999 : Launch of Président Camembert and Emmental based cheese spreadCheese spreadCheese spread is a soft, spreadable, cheese or product containing cheese. Many commercial cheese spreads are in the form of cheese slices or cheese triangles.-See also:*Velveeta*Dairylea*Laughing Cow*Cheez Whiz*Easy Cheese*Cream cheese*Liptauer...
. - 2003 : Launch of Président MozzarellaMozzarellaMozzarella is an Italian Traditional Speciality Guaranteed food product. The term is used for several kinds of Italian cheeses that are made using spinning and then cutting :...
and Goats' cheese. - 2006 : Launch of Président CantalCantalCantal is a department in south-central France. It is named after the Cantal mountain range, a group of extinct, eroded volcanic peaks, which covers much of the department. Residents are known as Cantaliens or Cantalous....