Entries for Britain’s Best Young Cheesemonger Now Open

The Young Cheesemonger 2017 competition is open to cheesemongers under the age of 30 and criteria includes knowing all cheese varieties, how to care for them and understanding how they are made.

Cheesemongers who are interested in taking part in the competition can download the entry form from the British Cheese Awards’ website (britishcheeseawards.com). The entry form consists of a brief history about the entrants’ work in cheese and a response to the following question: ‘You have £20 to shop for a cheeseboard for six people – which British cheeses would you buy?’ The closing date for submitting completed entry forms is 19th April 2017.

Judges from the British Cheese Awards committee will go on to select eight finalists from the entries received, who will be asked to attend the competition on 1st June 2017 at the Royal Bath & West Show.

On the day finalists will take part in three rounds. Round one includes a cut and wrap exercise where they will have to apply the technique to different weights of cheese by sight with no use of weighing scales. Round two is centred around identification, where contestants will need to taste and identify a number of unmarked cheeses. The third and final round involves a Mastermind-style quiz about British cheese. The winner will be announced later on at the same day.

The competition is part of the British Cheese Awards 2017, a pre-eminent cheese event in the UK and a celebration of British cheese. The awards take place on 31st May 2017 at the Royal Bath & West Show in Shepton Mallet, Somerset.

Peter Mitchell, chairman of the British Cheese Awards said, “We’re delighted to welcome this competition back for its second year at the British Cheese Awards, thanks to the generous support from Rowcliffe. It’s an important competition for the British cheese industry as it promotes the key role of cheesemongers whilst also engaging with younger generations on the wonderful world of cheese. I’m very much looking forward to reading the entry forms, helping to select the finalists and to watching the competition on the day.”