Laurent Mons

Laurent Mons is a master cheesemaker and educator, sharing decades of Mons family cheese expertise through global training at Mons Formation.

Laurent Mons

Laurent Mons is a master cheesemaker and educator, sharing decades of Mons family cheese expertise through global training at Mons Formation.

About Laurent

Laurent Mons, the second son of the Mons family, has been immersed in cheese culture for more than thirty years. Guided by his motto, “learning to understand,” he has shared his expertise with trainees from around the world since 1995. His passion for education led to the creation of MonS Formation, a training centre uniquely located within the Mons Caves, where theory and practice come together seamlessly. Through this initiative, Laurent’s ambition is to pass on his cheese knowledge and culture to as many people as possible.

Mons Fromager-Affineur is an international cheese company encompassing wholesale and retail, affinage (cheese ripening), cheesemaking, the production of yoghurts and other dairy products, as well as training and education. Headquartered in Saint Haon-le-Châtel in the peaceful Côte Roannaise, the company operates nine shops across France, with franchised businesses in Belgium, Switzerland, and the UK, and exports to more than 20 countries worldwide.

Alongside the retail business, Laurent was entrusted with formalising staff and client training, which led to the creation of Mons Formation (formerly Opus Caseus) in 2001. Initially offered in French, the programme expanded internationally after Laurent partnered with Susan Sturman, resulting in the launch of the Anglophone Académie MonS in 2012. This English-language academy has since grown into a global network of training associates in the United States, Brazil, Japan, Russia, and Italy. Today, Académie MonS delivers comprehensive training across all facets of the cheese industry—from retail and management to affinage and cheesemaking—as well as curated city tours in world destinations renowned for their cheese culture.