Emilia D’Albero has become the first ever American to win the Mondial du Fromage, a biennial event held in France and known in English as the Cheesemonger World Cup.
According to CNN, while some onlookers believe that D’Albero’s victory could change the way that European cheesemongers think about their counterparts across the pond, she had her own hope, that Americans will stop thinking of cheesemongers as just people who hand out free samples at grocery stores.
“At its core, the definition of a cheesemonger is a person who participates in the sale of cheese, butter, and other dairy products,” D’Albero told CNN.
But the job also involves “being a storyteller, and educating people about being responsible consumers. It’s definitely skilled labor.”
She added, “In Europe this is a well-respected profession, but in the US they think we work behind a deli counter.”
Contestants at the Mondial du Fromage, which is held in the city of Tours, southwest of Paris, compete in nine events.
Among the challenges are blind tasting, cutting a specific amount of cheese from a wheel without measuring tools, an oral presentation, and a written test with questions that can border on the esoteric, such as recognizing a breed of goat from its photo and knowing which cheeses its milk can produce.
Winning the gold medal and the €2,500 ($2,900) prize on September 15 was a thrilling moment for D’Albero, who began her career at the original New York City outpost of Italian food emporium Eataly.
