Young Cheesemonger of the Year 2024 - Paxton's Daniel Iliev Winner!

At Paxton's we are delighted that our Jermyn Street Manager, Daniel Iliev, won the prestigious title of Young Cheesemonger of the Year at the World Cheese Awards 2024 with Academy of Cheese, held this year in Portugal. This esteemed recognition celebrates Daniel's exceptional skills, dedication, and passion for the art of cheesemaking and cheese retailing.

The World Cheese Awards, one of the largest and most respected cheese competitions globally, showcased thousands of entries from over 30 countries this year. Daniel stood out among a talented group of young professionals, impressing the judges with his profound knowledge of cheese, exceptional palate, and innovative approach to cheese sourcing and pairing.

Judged by four esteemed cheese experts over five rounds, the six finalists from around the world are put through their paces from cutting and wrapping cheeses to certain weights to creating perfect pairings with Peter's Yard crackers. 

See below Daniel's winning cheeseboard! Available for purchase in November as the Award Winning Cheeseboard Week of Cheese.  

The Winning Cheeseboard:

Brightwell Ash -

This cheese was one of the first British Goat's Cheeses that I tried when I started my career in cheese. It will forever hold a special place in my heart and I have been very lucky to see it become better and better throughout the years and much, much better the last year alone!

Waterloo -

I love Waterloo because of two main reasons. First, it always delivers on exactly what it promises - always consistent. Second reason is the flavours - it's just simple flavours done really well. Butter, cream and a slight hint of button mushrooms on the rind - what more do you want?

Stonebeck -

I'm a big fan of this cheesemaker's mission. Traditional, seasonal, small production and using an original breed of cows. There's even talks they will try and revive the natural blueness that existed in pre-war Wensleydales! And oh my, the flavour...

Parmigiano Reggiano -

I spent a lot of my childhood and key years in Italy, so I couldn't resist the absolute King of Cheese in my opinion. The general use of Parmesan in most countries outside of Italy is for pasta alone, nobody puts in on a cheeseboard. I (and many other people, including the famous Giorgio Cravero) am on a mission to change the perception!

Trou du Cru -

Many of my non-cheesemonger friends tend to be a bit shy when it comes to washed-rind cheeses. This little devil provides a very small taste of how (despite it being a little strong) complex these cheeses can be. I've had 100% success in converting my friends to washed-rinds - will you?

Lanark Blue -

A traditional Roquefort recipe using the traditional Roquefort sheep, this cheese always amazes me. From gentle, complex and crumbly when young to farmy, sharp and salty when matured - this is my absolute top-favourite blue!

Wine Recommendation

If I was to choose a wine to pair with all this, I would choose our brand new Eradus Marlborough Pinot Noir from our new collaboration with the fabulous Corney and Barrow - a deep, dark ruby, with meaty, dark fruit and some farmyard notes. I love it when slightly chilled!

The Perfect Pairing:

The Rosemary and Sea Salt Cracker with Rollright, originally topped with a black garlic pickle, however, it was take from me at Gatwick, so thinking on my feet quickly, it was swapped for a traditional Portuguese jam with a modern twist - pumpkin and orange jam with rosemary and eucalyptus honey. My perfect pairing was based on seasonality - Rollright as an autumnal Mont d'Or style cheese naturally paired really well with the rosemary. So I asked myself - what's missing? And the answer was a yet another classic pairing with that style cheese - garlic. Due to the raw nature of these products, my pairing needed a little bit of sweetness, which is why I opted for the Black Garlic Pickle from Paxton & Whitfield. If you're not a rosemary fan however - charcoal biscuits are the next best thing (trust me, it's tried and tested!)