Monk, cheesemaker.
Born in Quebec on 2 May 1935, one of eleven children of Ernest Brunet and Délia Jolicoeur, he entered monastic life at the age of 20, at the monastery at Notre-Dame-du-Lac in Oka. There, he cared for the monastery's herd of dairy cows. He was transferred to the Notre-Dame-des-Pairies Monastery in 1967 and moved with it to a new facility near Holland in 1978. There, he developed a fine herd of Holstein cattle and made non-pasteurized cheese using traditional Trappist methods. He was the last monk in North America to do so. Old age led to his retirement in 2017 although he trained two young chefs to continue making cheese using his techniques. He died at the Deer Lodge Centre on 25 July 2022.
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Notre Dame des Prairies Trappist Monastery (RM of Victoria)
“Winnipeg chefs get monastic blessing, government approval for cheesemaking,” CBC News, 24 September 2018.
“Manitoba chefs giving up on traditional Trappist-style cheese, blame costly provincial roadblocks,” CBC News, 22 November 2019.
Obituary [Alberic Brunette], Winnipeg Free Press, 3 August 2022.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 3 August 2022
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