Chiswick Cheese Market Grant awardees announced
Image: Chiswick Cheese Market
The Academy of Cheese and Chiswick Cheese Market are thrilled to announce the awardees of their Cheesemakers Grant for 2023. The four winners, who beat off competition from a host of entries, and impressed the organisers during their interviews are:
- Tracey Longhurst, Surrey
- Millie Preece, Shropshire
- Aine Ranekaite, East Sussex
- Dean Storey, Herefordshire
The Grant was set up this year by the Academy of Cheese, with funding from Chiswick Cheese Market, to encourage aspiring cheesemakers into the industry and help new cheesemakers get their products to market.
Lucy Cufflin from Chiswick Cheese Market, who was involved in the selection of the awardees, said that the quality of the applications was exceptional, adding “They were also very different in terms of their aims for cheesemaking, which made it really tough to choose. In the end, we picked those people we felt would benefit the most from the combined support and training packages. It’s so exciting to see how their cheesemaking journey progresses over the next 12 months and we are looking forward to having their final cheeses at Chiswick Cheese Market next year, as soon as they are ready!”
Tracey, Millie, Aine and Dean each now have £1000 to spend, in the form of Academy of Cheese certifications and cheesemaking guidance. In addition to this training package, the awardees will receive bespoke support and mentoring, as well as opportunities to promote and market their cheeses.
The four winners are already enjoying the benefits of the grant and were able to meet up and share stories on their Academy of Cheese Level Two with Cheesemaking Course, which they all attended at Harper Adams University in July.
Full details of the grant can be found on the Academy’s website https://academyofcheese.org/chiswick-cheese-market-grant-for-cheesemakers/.
