Artisans, Homelands and Cheese Imaginaries
During the last decade, fine cheese production and consumption has blossomed in Quebec. Marketed as terroir products representative of local savoir-faire, these commodities are, in fact, the result of recent innovations, an invented tradition. Furthermore, their professed authenticity as artisanal products tend to occult the processes of production encountered in their actual manufacture. Using empirical data collected through a commodity chain analysis and, particularly, focus groups consisting of non-expert eaters, the author critically reflects on the process of qualification of fine cheeses as terroir products and the valorization of their authenticity in the regime of value in which they are produced, circulated and consumed.