The Courtyard Dairy wins Affineur of the Year as British cheese ageing earns global acclaim

Picture caption (L to R): James Spence from The Courtyard Dairy, Josh Windsor from Murray’s Cheese, and Simon Ferro from The Courtyard Dairy.

Picture credit: Jessica Bernard / Academy of Cheese

Renowned Yorkshire cheese shop, The Courtyard Dairy, has been named Affineur of the Year at the 5th edition of the competition, which took place at Christ Church Spitalfields on Tuesday 16 June. Taking home the biggest trophy for the first time, sponsored by Murray’s Cheese in New York, cheesemongers Simon Ferro and James Spence secured the win with their aged Quicke’s Cheddar in front of an esteemed judging panel of affinage experts from across the world, assembled by competition organisers, the Academy of Cheese.

The winning cheese, which was The Courtyard Dairy’s entry into the Hard cheese category, made its way from Quicke’s in Devon at just one week old, before being matured in Settle, North Yorkshire over the course of 10 months. 

Having set out to create a cheddar-alpine hybrid with a “balance of French finesse and British backbone” Simon and James regularly washed the cheese in a brine and bacteria solution, known as a ‘morge’, over the early months, before brushing and careful control of environmental factors including temperature and humidity, storing the cheese inside a wooden Port box. The resulting cheese, declared as a ‘clear winner’ by head judge, Patrick McGuigan, carried some of the hallmark tasting notes of Cheddar – brothy, tangy and slightly sharp – while bringing in meaty, herbaceous and umami flavours more commonly associated with traditional styles in France and Switzerland.

In a field of 24 competitors, bringing together cheesemakers and cheesemongers from across the UK, The Courtyard Dairy won three out of five categories at this year's event. In addition to their success in the Hard cheese category, Simon and James also took prizes in the Blue category for their innovatively clothbound 8kg Cropwell Bishop Stilton, and the Soft category, for which they painted their 250g Baron Bigod cheeses with the natural orange food colouring, annatto.

Simon Ferro, Head Cheesemonger at The Courtyard Dairy, commented:

“It's been incredible to be named Affineur of the Year at this amazing event. It's humbling, we feel super privileged. This Cheddar has taken so much time and effort from James and I to mature for just 10 months. It's had its ups, it's had its downs, as affinage does, so you have to work hard to rectify it. We did not come here expecting all this. We were like, let’s not go in with any expectations, and look what's happened. Amazing.” 

Josh Windsor, Associate Director, Caves at Murray’s Cheese, added:

“The Courtyard Dairy has truly produced a tasty hybrid of two distinct styles by blending make and affinage traditions. This is the spirit that drives our world class affineurs at Murray’s Cheese Caves in New York. We are excited to find out what arises from the exchange of ideas when we host the winner affineur.”

Tracey Colley, Founding Director of the Academy of Cheese, said:

“The standard of entries this year was exceptional and reflects the growing appreciation of affinage as both a craft and a catalyst for innovation within the British cheese industry. In just five years, we have seen competitors continually push boundaries, develop new techniques and bring exciting new cheeses to counters across the country, demonstrating the remarkable impact that skilled maturation can have on the final cheese.”

The other two categories were both won by No2 Pound Street in Buckinghamshire, developed by head cheesemonger Justin Humphris. In the Washed Rind category, the cheese shop scored top marks with a 2kg Rachel goat’s cheese from White Lake Cheese, which was washed with a diluted mead and dusted with bee-pollen to create delicate floral, honey notes, while the Crumbly category was secured through the light brining, vac-packing and hay-ageing of a 4kg Gorwydd Caerphilly from The Trethowan Brothers.

While the judges assessed all 47 individual entries in the Crypt, hundreds of cheese enthusiasts filled the church upstairs to taste their way through each competitor’s offering. All attendees had the opportunity to vote for their favourites, before the People’s Choice award went to South West Cheese in Barnstaple, who washed their Cheddar with an infusion of Westcountry Mead and smoked hay. 

Finally, the new Rising Star Award was presented to Burt's Cheese in Cheshire. Founder, Clare Burt, impressed the panel with the smoking of her Stilton entry over apple and maple wood, and will now 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.

With international recognition for the competition growing year-on-year, Affineur of the Year 2026 welcomed judges from across the world, including Laurent Mons from the Mons Formation in France, Benjamin Vogel of Gourmino in Switzerland and Josh Windsor from Murray's Cheese in New York. Murray’s Cheese also sponsored the grand prize for this year’s champion - an exclusive, fully funded week‑long professional development experience with their renowned Caves Team in New York City.

Full details on Affineur of the Year can be found at academyofcheese.org.