Affineur of the Year Returns with New Grand Prize from Murray’s Cheese

The Academy of Cheese has announced plans for the 5th edition of Affineur of the Year, taking place in London on Tuesday 16 June, including an incredible new prize from Murray’s Cheese in New York.

With Murray’s own Associate Director of Caves, Josh Windsor joining the judging panel for the first time this year, he will also be presenting the overall winner with an exclusive, fully funded week‑long professional development experience. Held at Murray’s state‑of‑the‑art cheese aging facility in New York City, the training programme will see the winner working alongside the cheese retailer’s expert affineurs, gaining hands-on experience in areas such as cheese care, aging techniques, sensory evaluation and specialised affinage practices, on one of America’s most respected affinage programs.

Taking place at Christ Church Spitalfields in London, Affineur of the Year 2026 will incorporate a host of new elements, including a brand new trophy, an education day for trade visitors, its first ever goat’s cheese, and the new grand prize. Josh Windsor will be joined by other expert judges from across the world, including Laurent Mons from the Mons Formation in France; cheese writer and educator, Patrick McGuigan; Patricia Michelson from La Fromagerie; Benjamin Vogel of Gourmino in Switzerland; and Sarah Furno from Cashel Farmhouse Cheesemakers in Ireland.

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 5-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 Monday 15 June, with full details set to be announced soon.

Affineur of the Year brings together cheesemakers, cheesemongers and cheese fans to celebrate the growing affinage movement in the UK. 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.

Affineur of the Year 2026 will take place between 1.00pm – 7.00pm on Tuesday 16 June at Christ Church Spitalfields in London. Tickets are available to purchase now from academyofcheese.org, priced at £60 +VAT.

Academy of Cheese 

The Academy of Cheese is an impartial, not for profit organisation, created in 2016 to establish an industry supported, recognised and certified development programme to promote cheese knowledge, cheese education and careers in cheese. Academy courses educate both consumers and professionals through four levels of certification culminating in the highly anticipated accolade of Master of Cheese.