One Cheese To Rule Them All review: The People, Politics, and Passion of Cheese

A World United by Cheese: Why Patrick McGuigan and Carlos Yescas’ New Book is Essential Reading

What Makes One Cheese To Rule Them All Different?

One Cheese To Rule Them All is not just another compendium of great cheeses. Rather than offering a predictable tour of celebrated wheels and wedges, McGuigan and Yescas present a rich, engaging narrative about the global cheese industry itself – its people, its politics, its quirks, and its evolution. Every cheese featured, whether iconic or obscure, is chosen with purpose, its inclusion justified by history, happenstance, or sheer cultural significance.

How the World Cheese Awards Shape the Book’s Narrative

The book is the result of years of travel, research, conversations, and deep professional immersion. Each entry reveals that the story behind a cheese is often far more compelling than the cheese alone. The World Cheese Awards (WCA) serve as a structural backbone, with the book divided by decades of WCA history. Early chapters feature the familiar titans – France, Italy, Spain etc – but as the competition grows, so too does the global map of cheesemaking. Suddenly we’re in Brazil, Lithuania, Ukraine, and beyond, encountering cheeses I’d never heard of: Japan’s Takara no Takara, South Africa’s Kilembe, Norway’s mould-riddled Gamalost. Many of these stories verge on the fantastical, making it clear just how colourful and surprising this industry can be.

From Europe to Emerging Cheesemaking Nations

The anecdotes are both meticulously researched and vividly told. Episodes like Montagnolo Affine’s memorable moment at the 2013 WCAs, or the intricate scoring of Idiazabal, offer the kind of insider detail that only true industry veterans (length of service, not age-related btw) could deliver. More than once, I found myself learning something new about cheeses I thought I knew inside-out – those joyful “bam!” moments that only the best journalistic writing can deliver. I’m still a little amused by the fact that a multi-award winning Gouda-style cheese (St Malachi) was the vision of the CEO of Urban Outfitters!

A Conclusion That Brings the Industry into Focus

There were times I thought the authors were wandering off on tangents, only to realise, a breath later, how cleverly these threads wove back into the greater narrative. Many of the stories ultimately turn out to be bigger than the cheeses themselves: tales of resilience, culture, power, economics, sustainability, and occasionally, rebellion against the authorities. I kept searching for a single word to encapsulate all of this- politics, ethics, tradition, identity – until the Conclusion tied it all together beautifully.

I began reading with the intention of skimming so I could finish this review before Christmas. That idea lasted about three pages and I’ve had my head stuck in the book on every available opportunity. Each entry demanded to be read verbatim. I felt genuine FOMO at the thought of missing even a single anecdote or nugget of knowledge.

Final Thoughts: So Which Is the “One Cheese To Rule Them All”?

And as for the titular “One Cheese To Rule Them All” – well, revealing that would spoil the journey entirely.

I finished the book feeling changed: unquestionably more knowledgeable, but also more connected to and proud of the industry I get to play even a small part in. There’s a twinge of envy for the authors – imagine the people they’ve met, the stories they’ve heard, and the legendary (and obscure) cheeses they’ve tasted along the way…

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to see if I can track down a piece of that mythical Gamalost.

Rachel Holding | Academy of Cheese Writer

Member of the Academy, Rachel loves a good cheese and wine session. Her love of all cheeses, artisanal or otherwise, has grown from her early years of working on the cheese counter at Fortnum & Mason.  She has a personal mission to taste as many cheeses as possible and to encourage this passion in others.