Affineur of the Year 2023 Judging Panel

Meet The Judges

An award is only worth something if the people giving it out know their stuff. We’ve gathered a bunch of cheese industry experts from a variety of different backgrounds to act as our judges. Let’s meet them.

One of the country’s leading cheese writers, Patrick contributes to titles including The Telegraph, The FT and Delicious. He has interviewed the world’s best cheesemakers, affineurs and cheesemongers and appeared on BBC Radio 4’s The Food Programme. His book, The Philosophy of Cheese, was published by The British Library in 2020.

Svein Erik has worked for Oluf Lorentzen for 22+ years and has an extensive knowledge of cheese.  He is a Member and Training Partner of the Academy of Cheese.  Svein Erik trains all the major retails in Norway, as well as his own team, and is involved in selecting which cheese will be presented to the Norwegian market.

Adrian, a fishmonger by trade, has held down roles as a Retail Admin Assistant, Allocator, and Merchandiser before moving into the world of Buying. Prior to his current role as a Senior Food Buyer, Adrian worked his way up through the ranks as a Buyers Admin and Assistant Buyer. Here he has spent the last 20 years gaining experience in premium fresh food retail. Adrian has extensive knowledge of the different food areas, including cheese, deli, fresh fish, smoked fish, caviar, truffle, meat & poultry, F&V and more recently Health & Wellbeing.

Mathew Carver founded The Cheese Truck in 2014, selling grilled cheese sandwiches to festival goers at Glastonbury from a bright yellow 1970’s Bedford ice cream van. He has gone on to become a well-respected and vocal advocate for British cheese, opening three cheese restaurants in London – The Cheese Bar, The Cheese Barge and the world’s first conveyor belt of cheese at Pick & Cheese. He also judges at the World Cheese Awards, British Cheese Awards and Young Cheesemonger of the Year.  

James, Group Chef Director for multi-award winning hotel group, The Pig, searches out the best British regional cheeses for his menus.  He has over 25 years of experience working with some of the best cheeses in the world and is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts.

Catherine has been making Cornish Yarg for nearly 30 years and more recently Cornish Kern, winner of the World Cheese Awards. Catherine is Chair of the Specialist Cheese Makers Association and judges at the World Cheese awards, the British Cheese Awards and the Royal Highland Show.

With 30 years’ experience in cheese education; Sue’s Paris-based business, Makers & Mongers, is dedicated to educating and connecting cheese professionals around the world.  As well as teaching professional retailing and affinage courses with MonsFormation since 2012, she has also served as translator for Profession Fromager publications since 2018. Sue led the team that produced the Certified Cheese Professional® exam at the American Cheese Society and served on its Board of Directors.  Sue has earned the Certified Cheese Professional®, Certified Cheese Sensory Evaluator® designations and is a member of the Academy of Cheese.

Emma has worked in the industry for 13 years in retail, wholesale and cheesemaking and she has built a niche on Social Media where she is known as The Cheese Explorer. She worked for five years as Wholesale Manager at the prestigious Mons Cheesemongers, specialist cheesemongers and affineurs and she has spent time in France learning the art of affinage. Emma has just written her first book called ‘The Cheese Wheel’ which will be released on August 17th 2023.