MADISON, WI
Wednesday, February 7th, 2024
Mark your calendars for March 5! The Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association (WCMA) is hosting its annual World Championship Cheese Contest®, and the organization has announced an expert judging team of 53 cheese graders, cheese buyers, dairy science professors, and researchers from 19 countries and 11 U.S. states to judge the global competition.
Taking place March 5–7 at the Monona Terrace Community & Convention Center in Madison, Wisconsin, the event will bring thousands of dairy product entries to the spotlight, judged by this dynamic team of industry experts.
Some of the judges for the event include:
- Jill Allen, Tillamook Cheese – Oregon, USA
- Cathy Strange, Whole Foods Market – Texas, USA
- Greg Anderson, The Kroger Company – Wisconsin, USA
- Dr. Gabriele Arlotti, CheeseItaly – Italy
- Ir. Maarten Bakker, Royal FrieslandCampina – Netherlands
- K.J. Burrington, American Dairy Products Institute – Wisconsin, USA
- Dominique Delugeau, Saputo – Wisconsin, USA
- Dr. Nana Farkye, Cal Poly – California, USA
- Jessica Fernández Lopez, Lactography – Mexico
- Adrian Fowler, Fowlers Forest Dairies Ltd. – United Kingdom
- Dr. Mucio Furtado, IFF – Brazil
- Craig Gile, Cabot Creamery Cooperative – Vermont, USA
- Enda Howley, Ornua – Ireland
- John Jaeggi, Center for Dairy Research – Wisconsin, USA
- Luis Jiménez-Maroto, Center for Dairy Research – Wisconsin, USA
- Lars Johannes-Nielsen, Danish Dairy Board – Denmark
- Aileen Kacvinsky, Schuman Cheese – Wisconsin, USA
- Prof. Samir Kalit, Ph.D., University of Zagreb – Croatia
- Dr. Kerry Kaylegian, Penn State University – Pennsylvania, USA
- Dieter Koch-Hartke, DMK Dairies – Germany
- Kyle Koll, Sargento Foods – Wisconsin, USA
- Drew Kordus, Great Lakes Cheese – Wisconsin, USA
- Dr. Susan Larson, Center for Dairy Research – Wisconsin, USA

As a press release noted, the competition will once again be overseen by the World Championship Cheese Contest leadership team, comprised of nine long-time dairy professionals:
- Chief Judge Jim Mueller, Mueller Consulting
- Chief Judge Emeritus Bob Aschebrock
- Chief Judge Emeritus Bill Schlinsog
- Assistant Chief Judge Tim Czmowski, Agropur (Retired)
- Assistant Chief Judge Stan Dietsche, Oshkosh Cold Storage
- Assistant Chief Judge Josef Hubatschek, ALPMA (Retired)
- Assistant Chief Judge Mariana Marques de Almeida, Ms. J and Co.
- Assistant Chief Judge Sandy Toney, Masters Gallery Foods
- Director of Logistics Randy Swensen, Wisconsin Aging & Grading Cheese
This year, members of the public are welcome to observe the preliminary rounds of judging live and in-person from 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 5, and Wednesday, March 6. Fans of great cheese are also encouraged to tune in to WorldChampionCheese.org for the live-streamed announcement of the next World Champion Cheese at 2:00 p.m. (CT) on Thursday, March 7.
Best of luck to all who enter!