Goat Cheese Goes Global

Chefs all over the country are cooking up international flavors studded with chévre 

Today’s global cuisine offers an exciting blend of ingredients, culture and heritage that lends creativity to all parts of the menu. Chefs seeking to reinvent classic recipes or elevate their menus are finding new influences, ingredients and flavor combinations. 

One such ingredient making its way to modern menus is goat cheese or chèvre, first created by 8th century French cheese makers. Known for its unmistakably tangy bite and creamy-smooth texture, today’s chefs are choosing goat cheese for dishes ranging from sweet to savory and those that span a world of flavors from Mexican to Japanese to classic American fare.

Take Chef Anastacia Quinones’ unexpected use of goat cheese in modern Mexican at José in Dallas. “The dish we are currently using goat cheese on is the green pea, mixed mushrooms, and goat cheese tamale,” she explains. “I used what was in season to highlight the flavors of the tamale.” Instead of a traditional Mexican cheese like cotija or panela, the application of American goat cheese in modern Mexican cuisine adds a unique flavor profile and smoothness. 

Chèvre, goat cheese, can easily become an old-world comfort food that customers feel good about indulging in, too. Richard Ellman, who leads Apheleia Restaurant Group in Dallas, takes pride in the use of chèvre with a Mediterranean slant at his newest restaurant, Merchant House. “Our Baked Goat Cheese has been a best seller since its debut on our spring menu,” Ellman says. His preference for goat cheese stems from a desire to offer healthier menu options; chèvre contains less sodium, fat and calories than cow’s milk cheese.

Maguro & goat cheese-Bigeye tuna, goat cheese mousse, pumpkin seed, Executive Chef/Owner, Tyson Cole, Uchi Austin Erica Wilkins

Another creative and elegant example of global exploration is Uchi Austin’s Maguro & Goat Cheese Crudo. It features delicate goat cheese “snow” to accent modern Japanese flavors. “The crudo is one of Chef/Partner Tyson Cole’s original hits — the sweetness of the apples, the savory flavor of the goat cheese and the fat from the pumpkin seeds and oil is what makes the dish work,” says Uchi Chef de Cuisine Joe Zoccoli. The sweet and savory Asian dish exemplifies application of the cool creaminess of chèvre as the perfect way to elevate this global recipe. 

Montchevre® is the leading Goat Cheese brand in the United States for its use of traditional French cheese making techniques, as well as its commitment to responsible milk sourcing and animal welfare. Goats treated humanely are healthier and have a higher quality of life, and therefore create a higher quality product that is being sought after by chefs across the country. Don’t be surprised to find chèvre appearing in many other global and other nontraditional applications in the coming months.