Britain’s Young Cheesemonger of the Year Announced

The competition, held on the second day of the Royal Bath & West Show, saw eight contestants from cheese retailers across the country compete for the coveted title.

The Young Cheesemonger 2017 was open to cheesemongers under the age of 30 and was sponsored by Rowcliffe, a leading direct importer and distributor of fine cheeses to the specialist independent trade.

Finalists took part in three rounds: round one consisted of contestants cutting and wrapping different weights of cheese with no use of weighing scales; round two saw contestants taste and identify a number of unmarked cheeses; and round three was a British cheese-focussed Mastermind-style quiz.

Andrew Van Kralingen, a trade sales manager from Paxton & Whitfield and Young Cheesemonger of the Year 2017 said, “I felt quite nervous going into the competition as I wanted to do well for the company and myself. However, once the first round started those nerves went away and it was nice to get on with it but also to spend time with my fellow contestants. As the competition runs throughout the day, we spent time in between rounds with each other talking about our work.”

Peter Mitchell, chairman of the British Cheese Awards said, “We were delighted to welcome this competition back for its second year at the British Cheese Awards thanks to the generous support from Anthony Rowcliffe & Son Ltd. It’s an important competition for the British cheese industry as it promotes the key role of a cheesemonger whilst also engaging with the younger generation on the wonderful world of cheese. I was really impressed with the knowledge and skill of this year’s finalists.” 

Tim Rowcliffe, chairman of Rowcliffe said, “Two years ago I was judging at the British Cheese Awards and realised that there were many events celebrating the fantastic cheese products, the producers and cheese shops who sell these products. However, there was a clear gap in celebrating the thousands of hard working people who actually cut and wrap these wonderful cheeses in deli counters across the UK. For that reason the Young Cheesemonger award was created with the focus being on the up-and-coming talent amongst the younger dedicated people.”