COW - Cheese of the World - Batignolles

COW Batignolles, on rue Lemercier in the 17th. Raw milk from Domaine de la Charlotterie arrives Wednesdays in glass bottles, sold in store only.

COW Batignolles: raw milk in the 17th

The Batignolles shop sits at 95 rue Lemercier, 75017, a couple of minutes from Brochant. Open Tuesday to Friday 10:30am to 1pm and 4pm to 8pm, Saturday 10am to 8pm, and Sunday 10am to 1:30pm, which makes it the COW to know for a Sunday morning run.

Raw milk here comes from Domaine de la Charlotterie in Seine-et-Marne (77), under 50 km away. It is bottled by the litre in returnable glass (bouteille consignée) and delivered on Wednesdays, straight after the morning milking, with four days of shelf life. Faisselle, fromage blanc and skyr from the same farm come in 1 kg tubs. None of it ships: the fresh dairy is "vendu uniquement en boutique", in store only.

What separates COW from a standard fromagerie is the affinage. Alexandre, a trained artisan cheesemaker, finishes much of the selection in the house cellars, and the team buys direct from the producers rather than through a wholesaler. The counter turns roughly 60 references at a time from a dozen countries, weighted toward raw milk cheese, alongside a short grocery of honeys, jams and crackers picked up on the same sourcing trips.

Tastings, cheese-making workshops and event platters can be arranged in store. The other COW shops are on Boulevard Saint-Germain (5e) and avenue Daumesnil (12e).