Le Camembert Pocket Knife
Le Camembert is the pocket knife Coutellerie Sauveterre makes in France, and the Camembert knife for anyone who can’t resist a ripe Normandy cheese. It comes in a wooden Camembert box, so as you prise off the lid you half expect to find the cheese itself inside. The box carries a likeness of Marie Harel, the farmer said to have created Camembert, and the knife itself is a Guy Vialis design from 2006.
Choose your wood: satin-finished olive, polished ebony or pistachio, each with its own character. Some versions go further, with the rippling pattern of a Damascus blade and finely detailed filework plates. Whichever you pick, you get a cheese pocket knife worth opening in front of guests. It’s also a wooden pen knife in its own right, one you’ll reach for whenever bread or fruit needs cutting.
•Made by Coutellerie Sauveterre in France•In its own wooden Camembert box•Wood handles throughout•
A Camembert cheese knife with a box to match
Half the fun is the unboxing. The round wooden box is the kind Camembert has long been sold in, complete with Marie Harel's portrait, the sort of detail a cheese lover spots straight away. Inside is a proper Camembert cheese knife, made in France by Coutellerie Sauveterre to a design Guy Vialis drew up in 2006. Keep the box for storing the knife between uses, or put it on the table beside the cheese and watch your guests' faces when they lift the lid.
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Watch Le Camembert in olive wood
A closer look at Le Camembert and the grain of its olive wood handle.
View this Le Camembert knife
Olive wood, ebony or pistachio
Satin-finished olive wood shows a swirling dark grain on a creamy ground, so each handle looks like a small landscape. Polished ebony gives a deep, glossy black that sets off a pale rind and a slice of crusty bread. Pistachio wood is the less familiar choice, with a greenish-gold colour and darker streaks that catch the eye on a slate board. Wood grows differently from tree to tree, so the handle you receive won't be a carbon copy of the photo.
A folding cheese knife for your board
Lay out a ripe Camembert, a wedge of Stilton, oatcakes, chutney and a few grapes, then set the knife down beside them. This folding cheese knife opens right at the table, so everyone can cut neat wedges as they go. Pass it round so your guests can admire the handle, then fold it away when the last crumb is gone. For a full set of cheese knives, read our Expert UK Guide to Cheese Knife Sets (3-Piece & Singles).
Le Camembert: your questions
What is Camembert?
Camembert is a soft cow's milk cheese from Normandy, with a white bloomy rind and a centre that turns creamy as it ripens. Marie Harel, a farmer from the region, is traditionally credited with first making it in the late eighteenth century. Her portrait appears on the box your Le Camembert pocket knife arrives in.
What should you have with Camembert?
Crusty bread or plain crackers, fruit such as grapes, pears or figs, a spoonful of chutney and a glass of cider or a light red. Bring it to room temperature first so the centre softens. Then unfold Le Camembert and take the first wedge with a knife named after the very cheese in front of you.
How should you eat Camembert?
At room temperature, rind and all: the white rind is edible and part of the flavour. Cut it into wedges from the middle outwards, like a cake, so everyone gets some rind and some creamy centre. Or bake it whole until the centre runs, then open your Le Camembert knife at the table to cut away the top.
Each Le Camembert is posted in its Camembert box, together with care instructions. Wash it by hand, then dry it without delay: the dishwasher is strictly off limits.
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