In short: wine has its sommeliers; cheese has its affineurs, its Meilleurs Ouvriers de France and its world champions, people who can talk about a rind for twenty minutes without pausing for breath. Here are 15 real people worth knowing and following. A couple of raclette popes, plenty of character, and not one who would let you put pre-sliced cheese in plastic on the table without raising an eyebrow.
A word of honesty before we sit down: here, “cheese sommelier” is our way of speaking, not a diploma. The titles we mention are the ones given by our sources. We opened every account on 31 October 2026, and nobody on this list paid us or even proofread this page. It isn’t a ranking either: the order starts in Valais, then travels the world.
How to spot a cheese sommelier
A good cheese sommelier doesn’t start by reciting an appellation: they ask what you like. A real cheese sommelier smells, prods and tastes, and has no qualms about telling you your Brie isn’t ready. You can also spot a cheese sommelier by one awkward social habit: at a restaurant, they look at the cheese board before they look at the people.
And the cheese sommelier of your raclette nights? That’s the friend who brings a wheel instead of a bottle, and nobody complains. Here are the 15 people who, in our eyes, deserve the nickname of cheese sommelier.
1. Eddy Baillifard, the pope of raclette
If raclette had a plenipotentiary ambassador, it would be him. Ambassador of Raclette du Valais AOP and nicknamed the “pope of raclette”, Eddy Baillifard runs the Raclett’House in Bruson, the village where his grandfather was the first cheesemaker. He has carried the scraper to the Milan World Expo in 2015, the Euro in Paris in 2016 and the PyeongChang Olympics in 2018. His rule for choosing a wheel rhymes in French and translates roughly as: too many holes, too little taste.
Cheese sommelier to follow (company account): @raclett_house on Instagram
Video: Canal9 (YouTube).
Sources: Valais.ch, Région Dents du Midi, Blick
2. Claude Luisier, the affineur turned social media star
Claude Luisier ages his cheeses in historic cellars in Leytron, in Valais. His son launched him on social media, at first to sell a little more cheese. The result on 31 October 2026: 1.7 million followers on TikTok and 868,000 on Instagram. He told Swissinfo he himself struggled to understand a million views for cutting a raclette cheese. His view on the matter has no nuance, and we won’t hold it against him: for him, raclette from Valais is the absolute best.
Cheese sommelier to follow (company account): @luisier_affineur_fromages on Instagram
Video: 52 minutes RTS (YouTube).
Sources: Swissinfo, Blick, TikTok
3. Rolf Beeler, Switzerland’s cheese pope
The second pope on the list, Switzerland being generous in that department: his own account calls him the “Käsepapst der Schweiz”. Rolf Beeler doesn’t make his cheeses. He picks them from small artisan cheesemakers, then ages them. He is said to have spent years as a teacher before turning to affinage, which may explain how he keeps a class of raw milk cheeses in order. His “Sélection Rolf Beeler” was presented at Turin’s Salone del Gusto in 1998.
Cheese sommelier to follow (company account): @rolfbeeler on Instagram
Video: Alpine Express by The Red Cow (YouTube).
Sources: Wikipedia, The Nibble
4. Hervé Mons, the man with the tunnel
The story begins in 1964 at the markets around Roanne, with Hubert Mons. His eldest son Hervé opened the first shop in 1983 and became a Meilleur Ouvrier de France in 2000. His most memorable idea: turning a former 180-metre railway tunnel in Ambierle into aging cellars. Where trains once passed, cheeses now take their time. Hervé Mons was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour on 1 January 2026.
Cheese sommelier to follow (company account): @mons_fromager_affineur on Instagram
Video: Slow Food (YouTube).
Sources: Roannais Tourisme
5. Laurent Dubois, the Paris Meilleur Ouvrier de France
Laurent Dubois displays his Meilleur Ouvrier de France title and four Paris addresses: Auteuil, Bastille, Dupleix and Maubert. His speciality, according to Paris by Mouth, is pushing aging beyond the usual, with a 100-day Sainte-Maure de Touraine, and daring house creations such as Roquefort with quince paste. If you only know one cheese shop in Paris, you now have at least one good reason to take the wrong metro.
Cheese sommelier to follow (company account): @laurentdubois_fromager_paris on Instagram
Video: Laurent Dubois (YouTube).
Sources: Paris by Mouth
6. Marie Quatrehomme, the pioneer
In 2000, at the very first edition of the competition for cheesemongers, Marie Quatrehomme became the first woman Meilleur Ouvrier de France in the speciality. Her path may surprise you: she was a psychomotor therapist before she met cheese, or more precisely Alain Quatrehomme, in 1978. A Knight of the Legion of Honour since 2014, she saw the next generation of the family business arrive in 2010, with Nathalie and Maxime.
Cheese sommelier to follow (company account): @fromageriequatrehomme on Instagram
Video: ELLE (YouTube).
Sources: Quatrehomme
7. Rodolphe Le Meunier, the man who created the Mondial
A Meilleur Ouvrier de France in 2007, Rodolphe Le Meunier also created, with Tours Événements in 2013, the Mondial du Fromage, home of the world’s best cheesemonger competition. In other words, he built the stage on which several people on this list became famous. His philosophy, shared with Gault&Millau, could settle many an after-dinner argument: find the right cheese for the right customer.
Cheese sommelier to follow: @rodolphelemeunier on Instagram
Post by @rodolphelemeunier.
Sources: Gault&Millau
8. Virginie Dubois-Dhorne, the first woman world champion
A cheesemonger since 2004, Virginie Dubois-Dhorne was crowned the world’s best cheesemonger in Tours in 2021, the first woman to win the title, after coming second in 2019. She runs La Finarde in Arras with affineur Jean-François Dubois. She also won the Lyre d’Or in 2016 and the Fontainebleau competition in 2018. Her favourite cheese, according to Taste of France: Saint-Nectaire. Write that down; it’s the kind of detail that saves a gift.
Cheese sommelier to follow: @virginiedhorne on Instagram
Video: Les Nouveaux Fromagers (YouTube).
Sources: Taste of France
9. Vincent Philippe, the self-taught champion
Self-taught and employed by Maison Bordier since 2000, Vincent Philippe won the title of world’s best cheesemonger in 2023: sixteen candidates, nine events, two days. On the menu: blind tasting and cheese sculpture. Yes, sculpture. Before that he climbed the steps one by one: second at the Lyre d’Or in 2018, third at the Coupe de France in 2019, French champion in 2021.
Cheese sommelier to follow (company account): @maisonbordier_ on Instagram
Video: Maison Bordier (YouTube).
Sources: Gault&Millau
10. Emilia D’Albero, the first American crowned in France
Based in Philadelphia, Emilia D’Albero won gold in Tours on 15 September 2025, against 17 competitors from 14 countries. No American had ever won this title, and we imagine the news made some noise in the cellars. To qualify, she first had to win the Cheesemonger Invitational in the United States. At the time she worked at Formaticum, a cheese paper specialist.
Cheese sommelier to follow: @emdalbero on Instagram
Video: CBS Philadelphia (YouTube).
Sources: PhillyVoice, Perishable News
11. Courtney Johnson, the doctor of cheese
Third in Tours in 2025, Courtney Johnson runs Street Cheese in Seattle. Her account is called The PhCheese, a pun on her PhD and cheese, and that alone earns her a place here. Along with Emilia D’Albero, she ended up on Kelly Clarkson’s show: as she writes herself, that wasn’t on her bingo card. Proof that cheese really can lead anywhere.
Cheese sommelier to follow: @thephcheese on Instagram
Post by @thephcheese.
Sources: Perishable News
12. Betty Koster, the lady of Gouda
Betty Koster learned the trade in her grandmother’s cheese shop in Haarlem, before founding Fromagerie L’Amuse with her husband Martin in 1989. Her signature? A two-year Gouda aged in a warmer cellar than usual, and selected wheels ripened for ten more months and coated in black wax, the “Black Bettys”. If you thought Gouda stopped at the cube on a toothpick, she has a word for you.
Cheese sommelier to follow (company account): @fromagerielamuse on Instagram
Video: Misset Horeca (YouTube).
Sources: Cheese Connoisseur
13. Will Studd, the man who took Roquefort to court
Born in London and based in Melbourne since 1982, Will Studd imported 80 kg of Roquefort in 2002 to challenge Australia’s raw milk rules. The import was refused and the court ruled against him, but the rules eventually moved: who else has taken a blue cheese before a judge? Since 2002 he has also presented the series Cheese Slices, filmed in about two dozen countries.
Cheese sommelier to follow: @willstudd on Instagram
Post by @willstudd.
Sources: Wikipedia, willstudd.com
14. Ned Palmer, the cheesemonger historian
A Neal’s Yard Dairy alumnus and former jazz pianist, Ned Palmer founded The Cheese Tasting Company in 2014. His book A Cheesemonger’s History of the British Isles, a Sunday Times bestseller, tells British history in ten periods, each with its cheese. It may be the only history lesson that makes you hungry. He also runs cheesemonger’s tours of London, where you learn by chewing.
Cheese sommelier to follow: @cheesetastingco on Instagram
Video: The Cheese Tasting Co (YouTube).
Sources: Profile Books, Goodreads
15. Carlos Yescas, the international judge
A former diplomat and United Nations expert, Mexico’s Carlos Yescas co-founded Lactography, which champions Mexico’s artisan cheeses. A World Cheese Awards judge, he was a Supreme Judge in 2009, and he wrote Quesos Mexicanos (Larousse, 2013). In 2025 he co-wrote One Cheese to Rule Them All with Patrick McGuigan, on 100 award-winning cheeses. With a title like that, here is a man who understands what’s at stake.
Cheese sommelier to follow: @carlosyescas on Instagram
Post by @carlosyescas.
Sources: Quarto, Endicott College
Questions about the cheese sommelier
Is cheese sommelier a real diploma?
In this article, no: cheese sommelier is an affectionate nickname. The serious titles are the ones we mention, such as Meilleur Ouvrier de France or world champion cheesemonger.
What’s the difference between a cheesemonger, an affineur and a cheese sommelier?
A cheesemonger advises and sells. An affineur cares for the wheels in the cellar until the right moment. A cheese sommelier, in the sense we use here, is someone who can tell a cheese’s story and find the one you’ll love. One person can easily be all three.
Does a cheese sommelier really care about raclette?
Yes, and some have devoted their lives to it: see Eddy Baillifard and Claude Luisier. A cheese sommelier will also tell you to taste several raclettes before choosing.
How do I become the cheese sommelier among my friends?
Taste often, note what you like and ask your cheesemonger questions. It costs less than a diploma and is far more delicious. To become a cheese sommelier at home, start with a good raclette night.
So where do you stand?
One last tip for playing the expert at the table. Take the cheeses out of the fridge a good hour before serving, because a cheese that’s too cold has very little to say. Taste from mildest to strongest, or the blue will talk over everyone else.
Cut so that each person gets a little of the heart and a little of the edge, which prevents territorial wars. Between bites, a piece of plain bread or a sip of water resets the palate. Finally, write down the name of what you liked: that’s how it all starts, and it’s far more useful than memorising an appellation to impress your brother-in-law.
You don’t need to enter a competition in Tours to host well. Start with our guide to how much cheese per person, pick your machine from our selection of raclette grills, then follow two or three of these accounts. You’ll soon find out whether you’re more of a pope, a judge or a sculptor. And if someone is missing from this list, tell us in the comments: we only ask to taste. The family’s next cheese sommelier might just be you.
