Please wait

Contact

37-39 rue Boissière
75016 Paris
France

Phone : 01 41 40 99 80

GaultMillau © 2025 All rights reserved

How do you become the world's best cheesemaker? The 2023 winner's answer

How do you become the world's best cheesemaker? The 2023 winner's answer

Ingrid Boinet | 10/3/23, 11:35 AM
Disable your adblocker

Self-taught Frenchman Vincent Philippe won the World Cheesemakers' Championship. A first step for the man aiming for the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge pass.

At the beginning of September, the competition was raging in Tours. What was at stake? The title of World Cheese Champion. Two days of competition, sixteen candidates, nine tests... Despite intensive training, nothing could guarantee Vincent Philippe a place of choice in the world of cheese and dairy products. But against all odds, the Frenchman swept all before him, taking first prize.

"I wanted to see what I was worth in the profession".

In 2018, Vincent Philippe, an employee of Maison Bordier since 2000, regrets that his work is not more widely recognized. "We know the house enormously for its butter, whereas our know-how as creamer-cheesemaker-refiner is being pushed," he complains. So he entered the Lyre d'Or competition... and came second.

A year later, it was the same story. "I was surprised to be selected for the Meilleur Ouvrier de France (MOF) qualifications and the Coupe de France du Fromager". Although he didn't qualify for the former and came third in the latter, he wasn't discouraged. "I didn't put in any performances that gave me the title, but I told myself that I was in my place and that at every competition, even if you can fail, you climb a step in knowledge".

But 2021 proved to be the right year: he won the title of French Champion, enabling him to compete in the World Cheesemakers' Championship: "I wanted to measure myself, to evaluate myself. Being self-taught, I wanted to see what I was worth in the profession", he explains.

Nine tests to make the difference

To win the title, Vincent Philippe had to overcome nine tests spread over two days. On the program: a blind tasting, a general questionnaire on cheese and the making of a cheese sculpture. To face the tests he dreaded the most, Vincent Philippe prepared himself well: "I had done a self-pronostic to know where to score.I had set myself a low score on the precision cutting and the oral before a jury of twelve internationals".

The oral in question? The presentation of a cheese chosen in advance by the candidate. The Frenchman had chosen a small cow's milk cheese, created with Ferme du Gros Chêne in Betton (35) and matured for several weeks in the cellars of Maison Bordier. The candidate passed the test with flying colors: "I enjoyed my competition, I was serene".

Between his cheese platter and his recipe for Tête de Moine with chocolate, there was no doubt that Vincent Philippe would succeed. He thus overtook American Sam Rollins, a star cheesemaker and feared competitor, and British Nick Bayne, who came third. The Frenchman went home with his cup in hand and new challenges to face. What's next? "Redo the qualifiers for Meilleur Ouvrier de France in two years' time".

Disable your adblocker

These news might interest you

Comment des arômes peuvent tromper notre cerveau et nous faire manger plus ou moins sucré ou salé ?
News & Events
Comment des arômes peuvent tromper notre cerveau et nous faire manger plus ou moins sucré ou salé ?
Pour réduire le sucre et le sel de nos mets sans impacter les saveurs en bouche, notre nez a un rôle primordial à jouer.
Vivien Sonzogni, Grand de Demain 2026 de la Bourgogne-Franche-Comté : une table identitaire
News & Events
Vivien Sonzogni, Grand de Demain 2026 de la Bourgogne-Franche-Comté : une table identitaire
Lauréat de la Dotation Jeune Talents Gault&Millau 2025, Vivien Sonzogni est de nouveau mis sous les projecteurs. Il a été sacré Grand de Demain 2026 Bourgogne-Franche-Comté ce lundi 30 juin 2025.
Cédric Burtin, Gault&Millau d'Or 2026 de la Bourgogne Franche-Comté : un pari réussi
News & Events
Cédric Burtin, Gault&Millau d'Or 2026 de la Bourgogne Franche-Comté : un pari réussi
Le titre Gault&Millau d’Or 2026 Bourgogne-Franche-Comté a été attribué ce lundi 30 juin 2025 à Cédric Burtin, pour son restaurant éponyme à Saint-Rémy, aux portes de Chalon-sur-Saône.
Nicolas Adam, Stéphane Terlet et le “meilleur beurre du monde”
Craftsmen & Know-How
Nicolas Adam, Stéphane Terlet et le “meilleur beurre du monde”
À Maël-Pestivien, dans les Côtes-d’Armor, un éleveur de vaches Froment du Léon et un chef doublement toqué tissent depuis plusieurs années une histoire de goût, de fidélité et d’engagement. Le beurre qui les unit ne ressemble à aucun autre.
Pourquoi le rosé est-il rose ?
News & Events
Pourquoi le rosé est-il rose ?
Pour obtenir sa couleur, le rosé répond aux mêmes méthodes de vinifications qu’un vin rouge ou un vin blanc, à quelques nuances près.
Où dormir à Avignon pendant le Festival ? 10 hôtels stylés et reposants
Hotels & Bed & Breakfast
Où dormir à Avignon pendant le Festival ? 10 hôtels stylés et reposants
Quand Avignon se transforme en théâtre à ciel ouvert, il vaut mieux poser ses valises dans un refuge douillet pour digérer les alexandrins et siroter un dernier verre après la tombée du rideau. Sélection de dix adresses à deux pas des planches, du palais et de la douceur provençale.
Become Partners