Affineur of the Year 2025: A Landmark Celebration of Cheese, Craft and Community

The Groundbreaking Cheese Competition comes of Age

On Tuesday 3 June, something truly magical happened amongst the majestic pillars of St Mary’s Marylebone. Nearly 200 cheese professionals and enthusiasts from across the UK and around the world gathered for the fourth edition of Affineur of the Year, organised and hosted by the Academy of Cheese.

The venue was nothing short of breathtaking.  This year’s larger, more spectacular setting reflected just how far this competition, and the wider appreciation for affinage in the UK has come in just four years.

An Unforgettable Celebration of Affinage

From its inception, Affineur of the Year has aimed to shine a light on the craft, science, and sheer wizardry of cheese maturation. This year’s event was our biggest and boldest yet. Guests were treated to 43 unique entries aged from the same original cheeses, transformed through a kaleidoscope of affinage techniques: flavour washes, petal rubs, humidity chambers, rind perforation, and more.

Rennet & Rind in Cambridgeshire, led by the ever-passionate Perry James Wakeman, took home the overall title of Affineur of the Year 2025. It’s Perry’s third win in four years, and it was no surprise to see him once again demonstrating his innovative flair. His winning cheddar, Dillon, started life as a clothbound Cheddar from Quicke’s in Devon and was matured with bold, yet thoughtful techniques. 

Aged aggressively in high humidity and temperature, the cloth was removed after three weeks and the rind spiked with a rolling device (a bit like one of those derma rollers!) that drove complex rind flavours deep into the heart of the cheese

As head judge Patrick McGuigan observed:

“There are so many variables in affinage – time, humidity, temperature, airflow and the cheese you start with – and you need to keep tweaking everything along the way. It’s a complicated skill to master. As for Perry winning again, the guy clearly knows what he’s doing. He’s a really, really talented affineur. It means everything to him, and you can see that from just how successful he’s been, improving year on year.”

The Competition Cheeses: Five Blank Canvases, Endless Possibilities

Compering the event, Academy of Cheese Director, Charlie Turnbull affectionately likened the art of affinage with the metaphor of the cheesemaker as a midwife handing over the cheese baby to the affineur parents to raise.  Each entrant this year chose to mature one or more of five iconic British cheeses as their starting point, taking them from the cradle of their makers at just a few days old: 

• Cropwell Bishop Creamery’s Blue Shropshire: Rich, tangy and bold, offering scope to intensify or mellow its signature blue character.
• Solstice from White Lake Cheese: A washed-rind soft cheese, ideal for experimenting with brines and coatings.
• Baron Bigod from Fen Farm Dairy: A luxurious Brie-style cheese with silky textures and vegetal complexity, perfect for subtle, surface-ripening techniques.
• Gorwydd Caerphilly from The Trethowan Brothers: Often described as three cheeses in one, with its crumbly lactic centre, creamy breakdown near the edible velvety rind – much loved by cheese professionals for its expressive ageing potential.
• Quicke’s Cheddar: A traditional clothbound cheddar from Devon, offering a robust base for affineurs to develop depth and complexity.

Each of these cheeses offered up a fascinating canvas for refinement to each of the competitors.  And refine they did. Entrants washed cheeses in cider, coated them in petals, layered them with flavoured pastes, and meticulously controlled their environments. Some transformed their cheeses into something almost unrecognisable. Others coaxed subtle evolutions from the original flavours. All of it was deeply personal, as illustrated in their Statements of Intent, which, documenting their affinage goals, were submitted at the beginning of the ageing period and used in the judging process.

People’s Choice: Cheese in the Hands of the Crowd

One of my personal highlights was watching guests – industry stalwarts and passionate enthusiasts alike – roam The Great Hall, armed with scorecards and educated palates, tasting all 43 cheeses and chatting to their creators, before casting their vote for the People’s Choice Award.

It’s one of the most democratic and joyful moments of the day, and this year, The Fine Cheese Co. of Bath won this Award with their exceptional Cheddar entry, which was likened to more of a Swiss Appenzeller than a cheddar – such is the influence of affinage!

The Fine Cheese Co.: “Serial Winners”

They didn’t stop there. Nick Bayne and Martin Knapp – the skilled affineurs at The Fine Cheese Co. also swept up Category rosettes for Best Washed Rind Cheese with their Solstice, Best Soft Cheese for Baron Bigod, and Best Crumbly Cheese for Gorwydd Caerphilly, showing off their refined skills across the different cheese makes.

Their range and finesse were exceptional, and they reminded us how diverse and expressive British cheese can be when it’s matured with intention.

The Affineur of the Year Awards is like no other event on the cheese calendar – we sampled a huge variety of incredible cheeses that are impossible to try anywhere else. We loved the experimentation that was on show; from a limoncello-infused Baron Bigod that tasted like cheesecake, to a washed Gorwydd Caerphilly that completely changed its character – sticky, sweet, and utterly delicious.

Gareth Main, Little Mouse Cheese

Best Blue Cheese

Best Blue Cheese, meanwhile went to Roger Longman of White Lake Cheese in Shepton Mallet, who paid tribute to Cropwell Bishop Creamery, makers of the Blue Shropshire, by naming his cheese “Coming Home” after the Skailes’ family Somerset heritage.

Honouring Achievement in Cheese Education

This year’s event also saw us honour two incredible individuals for their contributions to cheese education and the industry at large.

Andreea Popa, one of our Accredited Training Partners and long-standing supporter of cheese education, was officially welcomed as a Fellow of the Academy after completing her Level Three certification—a huge achievement.

Meanwhile, Katy Fenwick received an Honorary Fellowship, not only for her tireless work supporting the Academy’s mission, but for her unwavering advocacy for the British cheese sector more broadly.

Their passion and dedication are shaping the future of cheese education, and we were proud to recognise their achievements in front of our community of cheese professionals.

A Feast of Cheese Accompaniments

Cheese may have been the star of the show, but we were lucky to be joined by a stellar cast of supporting artisans who made the day extra special.

Guests were treated to generous sampling of:

• Tempus Charcuterie’s delicious award-winning British cured meats
• Characterful craft beers from Round Corner Brewing
• Sparkling wines from Sussex-based Rathfinny Estate and Liberty Wines
• Refreshingly grown-up non-alcoholic aperitifs from Drinks Kitchen

These carefully chosen pairings elevated the experience and brought our vision of cheese as a centrepiece of British food culture to life.

Until Next Year…

As we packed up the tables, wrapped up the last bits of cheese and said our goodbyes, I couldn’t help but feel proud – not just of the winners, but of everyone who entered, tasted, judged, poured, paired, chatted, laughed, and shared.

We’ve come a long way in four years, but as affinage teaches us, growth doesn’t stop. A sentiment that was echoed by Laurent Mons, one of our 12 judges and one of the world’s most respected affineurs, put it:

Ageing is a process that never ends. Every minute, every hour, every day. There is always something new to learn.

Laurent Mons

That spirit of curiosity, innovation and deep respect for the craft echoed throughout every entry, every conversation, and every taste at this year’s event.

To everyone who attended, competed, judged, volunteered or supported us—thank you. You’re helping to transform affinage from a behind-the-scenes skill to a celebrated art form. We can’t wait to see where the next year of cheese ageing will take us.

When you sell cheese to your customers, a lot of the time you don’t get a lot of feedback, but here, in one room, you have the best cheese people in the world looking at your cheese and judging it. Everyone is sharing and the industry is growing.

Perry James Wakeman, Affineur of the Year 2025

Thank you to our event Sponsors

Affineur of the Year simply wouldn’t happen without the generous support of our sponsors. Our thanks go to:

And an extra special thanks to Mons Formation, who supported the competition with the fantastic prize of a week-long course in affinage at their renowned training centre in Saint-Haon-le-Châtel, France.