Calendroz and the cheeses of Le Gros Chêne in Méan

A Condroz workshop in the Dinant district

In Méan, in the municipality of Havelange, Fromagerie du Gros Chêne gives the flavours of the Condroz a specific address. Among its range, Calendroz is a raw cow's-milk cheese with a bloomy rind. This product offers a starting point without reducing the entire cheesemaker to one cheese or confusing very different milks and cheese types.

The cheese presentation clearly separates cow's-, goat's- and sheep's-milk products. It is a small map of skills: milk, cheesemaking and maturation combine to create distinct textures. Visitors can choose their own thread, perhaps comparing several cheeses from one milk or exploring the differences between their rinds.

From livestock farming to cheesemaking

Daniel Cloots began by raising goats before devoting himself entirely to cheesemaking in 1989. The producer's published history describes this specialisation in Méan and the development of a range supplied by regional farms' milk. It gives the product a human face without inventing monastic origins or an ancestral recipe.

The workshop expanded over time, notably in 2012 and 2024. Timber, technical rooms and maturing spaces remind us that artisanal cheese does not come only from a beautiful meadow. It also needs organisation, equipment and human presence. Skills and workplace both belong to the story of flavour.

A rind, a cheese and time

Calendroz received the Cheese of the Year 2026 title in APAQ-W's competition dossier. This distinction concerns a particular product and edition; it does not mean every cheese in the range received the same title. Its main interest still lies in tasting and the work of maturation.

For a first approach, ask the cheesemonger to describe the maturity of the piece you choose. A young cheese and a riper one do not give the same sensation. Compare the suppleness of the interior and the rind's expression without trying to apply complicated vocabulary: your impressions are a better beginning than a memorised list of notes.

Creating your own discovery

The website also presents other types, including fresh goat's cheeses and blue cheeses. To compose a cheeseboard, choose a few contrasting pieces rather than an indistinct accumulation. Check current information for buying and any visitor opportunities. The online virtual tour already explains the stages without promising unrestricted production access.

The photograph shows a Méan street in 2005. It locates the story in the village and does not claim to depict the workshop or a cheese sold today. To identify Calendroz, use the product name and manufacturer's information: landscape gives context, not the composition of a wheel.

Photos and credits

Photo 1 — The Hamois–Havelange road in Méan, photographed on 3 July 2005; village context, not the cheesemaking workshop. Jean-Pol GRANDMONT · CC BY 2.0 · Source.