A celebration of the art of maturing cheese and guiding it to its full potential
“Affineur of the Year” is a unique opportunity for cheesemongers and cheesemakers to showcase, across the world, the skill and artistry involved in ageing a cheese to its full potential.
The competition, launched in 2022 by the Academy of Cheese and Quicke’s, started with ten affineurs taking a young Quicke’s Clothbound Cheddar and maturing it over the course of 12 months.
Now in its third year, Affineur of the Year has expanded the number of cheese categories to include different Make Post-Make varieties of cheese, to allow more competitors the opportunity to highlight and showcase a full range of affinage techniques, specific to those categories.
Event details
Join us at the China Exchange on 12th June 2024 when all cheeses will be judged by a select committee of industry experts at an event hosted by the Academy of Cheese & Quicke’s. The category winners will be announced and the overall winner will be crowned Affineur of the Year 2024.
Don’t miss out on this amazing opportunity to learn about the effects of aging three different styles of cheese, listen to top cheese experts, and of course, taste all the delicious cheeses!
The Cheeses:
- 8kg Cheddar from Quicke’s
- 8kg Blue Stilton from Cropwell Bishop
- 1kg Baron Bigod from Fen Farm Dairy
- 180g Solstice from White Lake Cheese
The Competitors:
- Brindisa
- Neal’s Yard Dairy
- No2 Pound Street
- Paxton & Whitfield
- The Courtyard Dairy
- The Crafty Cheese Man
- The Fine Cheese Co.
- Trethowan Brothers
- Ty Caws
- White Lake Cheese
The Sponsors:
- Harvey & Brockless
- Peters Yard
- Chiswick Cheese Market
- Curd & Cure
Date & Time:
12th June 2024 Drop in from 2.30pm – 7.30pm. Results to be announced 5.45pm (Timings subject to tweaks)
Affineur of the Year 2024 – schedule:
2.30pm – Welcome drinks
2.45pm – Introduction from Mary Quicke MBE from Quicke’s and Tracey Colley, director of the Academy of Cheese
3pm – Judging and introduction to each competitor, tasting of other cheeses
5.30pm – Results and judges’ feedback
6pm – Tasting
7.30pm – Close
Location:
China Exchange, 32a Gerrard Street, London, W1D 6JA
What’s included:
Welcome Drinks
Access to all seminars & masterclasses (spaces are limited and will be on a first come, first served basis).
Samples of all the competition cheeses
Meet all the competitors and taste their other cheeses
Refreshments will be available throughout the event.
Ticket cost: £50 plus VAT
Please retain your receipt and we will send you joining updates in due course.
Cancellations
Please note, once the event is booked it is non-refundable. All bookings are final, however, if you are unable to attend you can reassign your booking to another person.
We reserve the right to cancel the event at short notice should circumstances beyond our control make this unavoidable. Should this occur, ticket holders will be offered a place on the re-scheduled date.
