We believe an important element of being a cheesemonger is social interaction and stage presence. Objective every monger will have no more than 30 seconds to state their name, cheese shop, where you come from and most important “What is your favorite cheese and why”. Intro is worth up to 10 points.

elimination round
Provided: six bite size pieces of cheese with rind. Objective: determine milk type, country of origin, raw versus pasteurized, category (defined as fresh, bloomy rind, washed rind, semisoft, firm, hard, blue), age of cheese (defined in 2 month increments, ie 0-1, 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, and so on) and name of cheese. Each correct answer is worth 1 point. Contestants will be provided with a test sheet with all possible answers and will circle the correct answer(s). Contestants will have 5 minutes to complete test.

elimination round
Provided: approximately a quarter to half wheel of approx a 15 pound form, 2 standard sheets of cheese paper and 2 price labels. Objective: cut two 1/4 pound piece’s and wrap individually in paper. You will not be able to place cheese on scale prior to cutting. 10 points awarded for exact cut. 5 points awarded for .01 over/under. 4 points awarded for .02 over/under. 3 points awarded for .03 over/under. 2 points awarded for .04 over/under. 1 point awarded .05 over/under. After cut, you will weight, wrap and write your name on label. Each contestant will have 1 minute to complete cut and wrap. Wrap is worth up to 5 points per cheese. Wrap will be judged on neatness and legibility of hand writing.

Provided: a 10x14 cheese slate and buffet created by our sponsors including cheese, pickles, honey, bread, crackers, plus. Objective: you have 15 minutes to create a cheese plate of one ultimately profound cheese pairing. Mongers are to bring a bag of ‘tricks’ for pairing. This can include chutney, nuts, vegetables, fruits, your own bread/cracker, etc. Mongers must select only one cheese from the buffet to create a composed plate of 11 perfect bites for the judges to consume. Mongers are only allowed to include 2 elements (ie. vegetable and a honey) from their bag of tricks on the plate along with the one selected cheese from buffet. Mongers will have 30 seconds to explain their slate. 10 points for visual plating. 10 points for taste. 10 points for oral presentation.