Affineur of the Year returns with new award, cheese and prizes
Credit: The Academy of Cheese
The Academy of Cheese has revealed plans for this year’s Affineur of the Year event, with a host of new elements set to feature in the fifth edition of the competition. Taking place on 16 June at Christ Church Spitalfields in London, Affineur of the Year 2026 will include a brand new trophy, an education day for trade visitors, its first ever goat’s cheese, and an incredible new prize for the overall winner.
With international recognition for the competition growing, Affineur of the Year will welcome new judges from across the world, including Josh Windsor from Murray’s Cheese in New York. Murray’s Cheese will also be sponsoring this year’s new grand prize, an exclusive, fully funded week-long professional development experience with their caves team, taking place at Murray’s state-of-the-art cheese aging facility in New York City.
Following the visit of a large delegation of French cheesemongers to Affineur of the Year 2025, led by legendary affineur Laurent Mons, the Academy of Cheese has also announced the introduction of the Mons Formation Rising Star Award. Presented to the competitor who demonstrates outstanding potential and understanding in the art of cheese affinage, regardless of their final position in the competition, the recipient will be invited to attend a five-day affinage course with Laurent Mons and cheese consultant and author, Emma Young, at the Mons Fromager Affineur Caves in the Loire region of France.
Offering competitors even more opportunities to expand their affinage repertoire, the competition will feature a goat’s cheese for the very first time; a 2kg Rachel from White Lake Cheese in the Washed Rind category. With four other cheeses to choose from, category options include an 8kg clothbound cheddar from Quicke’s (hard), a 4kg Gorwydd Caerphilly from Trethowan Brothers (crumbly), an 8kg blue Stilton from Cropwell Bishop (blue), and a 250g Baron Bigod from Fen Farm Dairy (soft).
There will also be a brand new Affineur of the Year Education Day taking place in London on 15 June, with full details set to be announced soon.
This year’s judging panel will include: Josh Windsor from Murray’s Cheese in New York; Laurent Mons from the Mons Formation; cheese writer and educator, Patrick McGuigan; three-time Affineur of the Year winner, Perry James Wakeman from Rennet & Rind; Benjamin Vogel of Gourmino in Switzerland; Sarah Furno from Cashel Farmhouse Cheesemakers in Ireland; cheese educator, Sue Sturman; cheese consultant, Emma Young; Patricia Michelson from La Fromagerie; and Tim Jones from Lincolnshire Poacher.
It will see entries coming in from across the UK, with competitors including: The Courtyard Dairy in Yorkshire, Mike’s Fancy Cheese in Northern Ireland, Harvey & Brockless in Worcestershire, Fine Cheese Co. in Bath, and Neal’s Yard Dairy, Brindisa, Chiswick Cheese Market and Paxton & Whitfield in London.
Affineur of the Year brings together cheese makers, cheesemongers and cheese fans to celebrate the growing affinage movement in the UK, as the craft of meticulous maturation continues to influence Britain’s artisan cheese scene, according to the Academy of Cheese. Combining art and science in equal measure, many entrants take their starting cheeses to bold and ground-breaking new places. Recent entries have been coated in leaves, aged in coal and washed in liqueur, with some going onto enjoy successful product launches in their own right.
