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Exploring the Source Interviews

Exploring the Source with The Oregon Cheese Cave

Banner for Expploring the Source interview with The oregon cheese cave

Bringing Cheese To The People of Southern Oregon!

Melodie Picard

Cheesemonger

The Oregon Cheese Cave

Phoenix, Oregon

I met Melodie Picard owner of The Oregon Cheese Cave in Phoenix, Oregon through Southern Oregon Sourdough at one of the pop up events they collaborated on. She was at counter sampling out the fresh cut cheeses and butter that she sells. Of course, the cheese called my name.

Exploring the Source with The Oregon Cheese Cave

As I ventured over to the cheese case filled with a variety of European cheeses, Melodie engaged me with her sample of Gratte Paille by Rouzaire. The Triple-Cream cheese is an excellent example of a soft classic French cheese.

The buttery creamy texture is complemented with the slightly acidic aftertaste that helps balance the richness of the cheese. The cheese has a natural bloom to the outside that leads to a nice earthy mushroom flavor.

Cheese case filled with cheese at the oregon cheese cave

Melodie expertly explained the cheeses she sampled and as we sampled several cheeses, my mind wandered to what she was going to sample next. She cut fresh from the wheel a sample of Mimolette.

This orange cheese is from the city of Lille, France. Mimolette has a sharp but mild flavor with some fruity, nutty flavor with a slight caramel notes. The orange color comes from annatto, a natural ingredient that adds color without affecting the flavor. The process of making Mimolette gives the finished texture reminiscent to that of Edam, a Dutch cheese.

Head over to The Oregon Cheese Cave and discover what Melodie has in her cheese cases, don’t forget to pick up some French butter, you won’t be disappointed.

Acting Dreams

As Melodie grew up in Normandy, she was drawn to the American television shows on tv. She would watch shows such as Santa Barbara and Friends and dream about one day becoming an actress.

Her grandfather would tell her of the days during WWII when American GIs would trade chewing gum and chocolate for cigarettes. As she explained, chewing gum was such an American thing. It was a fascination of the locals as it was introduced to them by the troops occupying and rebuilding the region during and after the war.

Map of France marking Normandy region

When she finished high school, she applied to an Au Pair program and soon found her new home in San Francisco. While she lived in the Bay Area she still dreamed of heading to Hollywood. Eventually her dream came true, she moved to Southern California and was able to get a few on screen appearances. While pursuing her acting bug, she worked in wine and cheese, finding her calling. Her French accent, as she puts it, “gave her instant credibility”.

While living in Southern California she met her husband and started their family. They began thinking of moving to Southern Oregon when a friend made the move. Settling in Ashland, she began working at local wineries and a specialty grocery store running the cheese department.

Opening The Oregon Cheese Cave

Melodie decided that she wanted to do, “Cheese My Way”, as she describes it. She opened her quaint little cheese shop on the main thoroughfare in Phoenix, Oregon. The shop was on the southern direction of the one way on Hwy 99. She was in this location for a few years before she stumbled upon a retail space just down the sidewalk!

Picture of the outside of the Oregon cheese cave storefront
The Oregon Cheese Cave’s Current Location

When she saw the inside of the shop, it was adorned with dark wood beams that lined the walls and ceiling. It was an immediate love of the space. The aesthetics of the interior brought her back to her small town in Normandy. She even added some painted beams in her cheese cave that were from a picture she had taken in her mom’s home village.

5 cheese cases that look like small english phone booths.

Melodie offers cheese selections not only from France but her cheese cases are filled with numerous selections from around the U.S. as well.

The cheese cases are filled with so many different styles of cheese. Sheep and goat, cheddars and a mix of regional favorites, to blue cheeses and you can’t go without mentioning her selections of French cheeses – brie, camembert, double and triple-creams.

Supporting Local

Melodie supports the local community, her shop carries local artisans who make top notch foods right here in the Rogue Valley. From jams and crackers to local hot sauce from Joey’s Hot Sauce! Plus delicious bread from Philippe the Baker, a French boulanger from Lyon, France is one of the vendors she carries. Look for Philippe’s Exploring the Source interview soon.

The oregon cheese cave local vendor products
Some of the many local vendor products Melodie carries

Planning a Party?

The Oregon Cheese Cave is the place to start! Cheese lovers unite! Melodie offers cheese platters to uplift your get together. Cheese platters paired with local products along with wine and cider that she will pair with your cheese selections.

Wine and Cider selection at the oregon cheese cave

Cheese Club and Classes!

The Oregon Cheese Cave has a Cheese Club Newsletter that allows customers who subscribe to be the first on the list of new releases and special cheese that are new to the shop.

Cheese Club Newsletter has first dibs on Cheese Classes before they are offered to the public. Melodie’s cheese classes are opportunities to learn about her specialty cheese with pairings of wine, cider or even non alcoholic drinks depending on the class.

How can you pass up a class offered by a Cheesemonger from France? Her knowledge of cheese and wine are well above the offerings at your local grocery store. Melodie makes her cheese classes fun and you will get so much out of the opportunity to learn from one of her classes. Plus, enjoy some cheese and wine!

Traveling Through the Rogue Valley?

Located between Ashland and Medford, the Oregon Cheese Cave can be found in Phoenix, Oregon just off of the I-5 freeway. Pick up some cheese to take home or a bottle of an Oregon wine to take home as you head over the Oregon/California border.

I hope you have enjoyed the Exploring the Source with The Oregon Cheese Cave interview.

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