Next: 14 Jul 2027
Bastille Day picnic and cheese board
France's national day of parades, fireworks and long lunches, when a board of French cheeses is part of the picnic.
Cheeses for Bastille Day picnic and cheese board
The Fête nationale on 14 July recalls the storming of the Bastille in 1789 and the Fête de la Fédération a year later. Paris has its military parade and most towns have a firework display, a bal and, often, a communal meal or picnic. French meals keep a cheese course before dessert, and on a summer holiday it moves outdoors: a wedge of Comté, a soft Brie or Camembert, a goat's cheese from the Loire and, for some, a piece of Roquefort. Comté is made in larger quantity than any other French protected cheese, and is often the first cut on the board.
The cheeses
Written by the EveryCheese desk with AI assistance. Background: "Bastille Day" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Comté: Myrabella, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Camembert: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Roquefort: Thesupermat, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Brie de Melun: Thesupermat, CC BY-SA 4.0, source