La Femme du Fromage has been part of East End Market since day one 12 years ago.
“It’s the whole school life for our kids,” says La Femme’s own Tonda Corrente. “The time has come for La Femme to graduate.”
And by almost the end of the month, the original Audubon Park Garden District food hub that helped put Orlando on the global culinary map will close its doors downstairs.
It was a decision she struggled with for the past two years, but she says it’s ultimately one that will help her grow both personally and professionally and move into a different realm than seven-day retail would never be possible.
“However, La Femme du Fromage is not finished,” says Corrente. La Femme du Fromage Upstairs has opened, quietly taking over the space that previously housed a boutique.
Indeed, Ms. La Femme is Ms. Corrente herself, not a market stall, and she plans to focus on her upstairs dining room, her new, not-quite-subterranean cheese club that she calls “The Speak Cheese,” and her burgeoning culinary tourism business that brings guests across oceans to discover for themselves the cheese and wine producers she has built relationships with for nearly 20 years.
“This summer’s trip abroad involved a lot of soul searching,” Corrente told the Orlando Sentinel. “And I knew that when I returned home, I would make big, positive changes…I’m so excited to share these places and people, develop La Femme du Fromage, and see it transform into something new.”
Spain and Portugal are already on the 2026 calendar, followed by Italy, England and France, but even before the end of the year fans will be seeing plenty of action upstairs as the Goddess of Gouda continues to operate in a whole new way.
She said The SpeakCheesy will offer a special cheese selection each month that fans can’t find anywhere else in the city. Guests can stay informed, pre-order, and set a pick-up time by simply signing up for the newsletter through a pop-up on her website’s landing page (lafemmedufromage.com).
The pop-up featuring her favorite grilled cheese happy hour will continue after the store’s chrysalis leaves, but at Upstairs, she promises, dinner guests will “get to really get to know me.” She looks forward to returning to the intimate dinners she hosted at Tonda’s Kitchen at the beginning of her career.
The 12-seat space, which initially relocated the lavish furnishings it had planned to bring to Orlando’s North Quarter before the pandemic, found purpose in the 12-seat space, which Corrente said would be “like having dinner at home.” Her family’s pottery adorns the large and beautiful table at Washburn Imports.
“As well as creating well-curated dinners that pour wine, expand palates, and venture into more sophisticated cuisine, we also look forward to allowing other chefs to use the space as their own chef’s table or incubator space. East End Market has a beautiful kitchen, and there are a lot of talented people in the city who would love to embark on their own private dinner series, but don’t have a place to host it,” she says.
Meanwhile, Corrente is also accepting orders for the holiday season. She’s taking orders for all the items she will continue to be known for, including cheese selections and charcuterie platters. And for those looking for incredible cheese deals, take note: a fire sale of sorts is about to take place (because her many highly exclusive selections are a fiery one).
She, too, is grateful and looking forward to seeing some familiar faces as the situation settles down.
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“I’m so grateful,” Corrente says, his voice filled with emotion.
“I never expected to be here this long. To have so many people who saw us on Netflix and said they came for the ‘Phil Tour’ and still come, and people who have always loved my store and who no longer live nearby but remind me they have to come back for the cheese… it’s so amazing that so many people and everyone in Orlando has continued to support and encourage me over the years. It means everything.”
She points out that she could have waited until the end of the year, but it’s better to rip the bandaid off.
“Over the years, I’ve been trying to grow my business in other ways,” she says. “The longer I stayed, the more afraid I became to leave.
“That makes us sad,” she said, again likening the stall to a child ready to leave the nest. “But we’re excited to watch them explore and we’re also excited to see what they become.”
Stay connected with La Femme du Fromage through our website (lafemmedufromage.com) and social media accounts (facebook.com/lafemmedufromage; instagram.com/lafemmedufromage).
Find me on Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, Instagram @amydroo or the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com, and for more foodie fun, join our Let’s Eat, Orlando Facebook group.
First published: October 21, 2025 9:19am EDT
