The $6 sellout Aldi cheese people say is better than D’Affinois (that costs three times as much)

THERE’S a French fromage at Aldi that cheese snobs say is better than the adored D’Affinois, but it costs just a third of the price.

LAST WEEK, I threw a tantrum over cheese.

I’m not proud of it. It’s not something I envisioned myself ever doing. But I’ve tasted the bounty of the gods and I can’t pretend I am not changed. My name is Bek Day, and I have an Aldi cheese addiction.

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The problem is, of course, that everyone else in my suburb seems to have developed the same addiction simultaneously. For the past three weeks, the spot where the object of my affections once sat, in the refrigerated section of my local Aldi store, has sat empty.

LE PAVE — IT’S FRENCH FOR CRACK COCAINE

The cheese that has whipped me into such a frenzy is none other than the innocuous gooey square known to those in the know as Le Pave. It’s 200g of impossibly creamy goodness, and it flies off the shelves quicker than one of Aldi’s notorious special buys.

Anyway, after three long weeks of desperation — my crackers sitting woefully unused in the pantry — I finally lost it. I even travelled to another Aldi store to ask if they had it in stock, only to discover that it too had run out of the good stuff. I’m not proud of it, but I have to admit, I shed a tear of frustration over a dairy product.

On the left we have Aldi’s Le Pave cheese, which people say is better than d’Affinois (which costs three times as much).

Dejected, cheese-free and trying desperately to recall the mouth-feel I so craved, I decided to reach out to other cheese-loving friends to see what it was about Le Pave that had me so bewitched.

‘BETTER THAN D’AFFINOIS’

If you consider yourself a cheese connoisseur in any way, you’ll know that D’Affinois — the stinky, gooey, melty and delicious product out of France is right up the top of the cheese food chain.

Until, it seems, Le Pave came along.

“I never thought I would say this, but it’s actually better than D’Affinois,” says Sally, a woman who hasn’t had a cheese-and-wine-free Friday night since the late ’90s. “But of course, you could buy three Le Paves for the price of one wedge of D’Affinois!”

And she’s right. While 200g of D’Affinois cheese will set you back about $17 from Coles or Woolies, the same amount of Le Pave can be yours for under $6. No wonder it’s flying off the shelves.

“It’s soft and creamy with a decent bite,” says Charlie, a cook with an impeccable palate and an encyclopaedic knowledge of food.

“Stacked on a French baguette, it’s a great everyday cheese.”

IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING

I contacted to Aldi to ask about the popularity of the cheese, and was shocked to discover they’ve had it in stock since mid-2017.

“Le Pave is produced within the Pays De Loire region of France, at one of the largest remaining dairy cooperatives in the country,” a spokesman told me. “To ensure its quality, the product is airfreighted to Australia on a weekly basis.”

On the subject of whether or not Aldi could sling me a couple of free blocks, the rep was oddly silent, so I have this favour to ask of you, dear reader.

The next time you go to Aldi, do me a solid and check if they have it in stock. Even better, nab yourself a square and leave it on the bench for half an hour before slicing off a generous wodge and squishing it onto some really great, crusty bread.

My mouth is watering already …

— This story originally appeared on Kidspot and is republished with permission