Two cheesemongers will represent Team USA at Mondial du Fromage, also known as the Cheese Olympics.
The 2025 winners of the Cheesemonger Invitational: Masters included Emilia D’Albero (left), Courtney Johnson, and alternate Sam Rollins (right).
On Sunday, March 2, 2025, 15 cheese professionals competed in the Cheesemonger Invitational: Masters tournament. Cheesemongers Emilia D’Albero (2024 culture Hot Lister) of Philadelphia’s Formaticum, a cheese paper and knife company, and Courtney Johnson of Seattle’s mobile cheese shop Street Cheese won the competition’s prize: the opportunity to represent the United States at Mondial du Fromage, colloquially known as the Cheese Olympics. The two cheesemongers made history, too—they make up the first all-women Team USA chosen to compete. Johnson will be the second American to compete in Mondial du Fromage for a second time.
2023 culture Hot Lister Sam Rollins of Cow Bell Cheese Shop in Portland, Oregon, earned the alternate slot. Winners were selected by a jury of cheese experts such as Vermont Creamery’s Allison Hooper, Maker to Monger’s Sigfried “Ziggy” von Frankenberg-Leu, and Euro USA’s Perry Soulos—the first American to compete in Mondial du Fromage twice.
The international Mondial du Fromage takes place every two years in France’s Loire Valley. Since 2023, the Cheesemonger Invitational: Masters takes place every two years at third-generation cheesemonger Adam Moskowitz’s Larkin Cold Storage in Queens, New York. The Masters attracts national talent and is designed to exhaust participants by replicating the format of Mondial du Fromage. In 2023, Moskowitz led a team of cheesemongers that included Johnson and Rollins; Rollins walked away with second place—the best-ever performance for the United States.
“It feels really exciting to be going back to Mondial,” said Johnson. “I’m pumped to go back and win now that I know what it takes to win.”
At the Masters, contestants took exams; cut and wrapped half-pound pieces of Gruyère by eye in five minutes; gave oral presentations on a cheese of their choice; composed cheese plates based on aesthetics; crafted bites with Parmigiano Reggiano and Stilton, respectively; and built cheese displays and sculptures.
Competition was fierce, especially during the oral presentation portion in which some opted to share the weather from the day a wheel was made. Contestants also used their own equipment, mimicking conditions at Mondial du Fromage. They brought their own plating supplies as well. For example, cheesemonger Joseph Karasch of the Cheese Shop of Salem created a bonsai tree from multicolored wire to follow the Masters’ theme—Shades of Color.
Each contestant interpreted the theme with personal flair. Johnson carved elephants and giraffes for her sculpture, while cheesemaker Jake Heller of Perrystead Dairy made a vase-and-flower sculpture that resembled a Matisse cut-out. The Curd Nerd’s Sarah Simiele invited the jury into her artist’s studio display, complete with paintbrushes and marmalade paint tubes. Hannah Kinney, who helped launch Massachusetts’ Nouvelle Maison Fine Provisions in November, said that culture inspired her verdant magazine-style spread.
Mondial du Fromage is set for September 14 to 16, 2025. Until then, Johnson, D’Albero, and Rollins will train under Moskowitz’s guidance to bring home gold for Team USA.
“I spent so long preparing and I couldn’t have done it without the help of everyone else who competed,” said D’Albero. “The teamwork and camaraderie of this is what really drew me to the competition. I did this for fun and this is an incredible honor. I can’t believe it’s happening. I’m so grateful to everyone.”
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- Cheesemaker Jake Heller shares the story behind Perrystead Dairy’s Intergalactic.
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- Hanna Lee poses with a wedge of Pleasant Ridge Reserve after oral presentations.
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- A member of the jury, Lilith Spencer, evaluates cheese during an oral presentation.
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- Cheesemonger Joseph Karasch’s handmade bonsai tree prop.
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- Cheesemaker Jake Heller’s Matisse-esque sculpture.
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- Cheesemonger Courtney Johnson’s safari animals for her sculpture portion of the competition.
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- The Curd Nerd’s Sarah Simiele’s display, themed around an artist’s studio.
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- A detail from Sarah Simiele’s cheese plate.
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- Cheesemonger Hannah Kinney’s verdant display inspired by culture.
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- Cheesemonger Austin Butler poses with his geometric display.
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- Tea is served on this tea-inspired cheese plate.
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- A detail from a cheese plate with a tea service twist.
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- Another cheese plate from the competition.
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- A geometric cheese plate.
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- A Parmigiano Reggiano bite from the Combination of Plates part of the competition.
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- A sample from the cheese prep category, which featured Stilton.
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- Another sample from the cheese prep category.
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- Seconds after Emilia D’Albero was crowned the second member of Team USA.
Alana Pedalino
Alana Pedalino's work has been featured in Chicken Soup for the Soul, Bon Appétit, and The Buffalo News. She's currently serving as culture's social media manager. She loves to write poetry, eat spaghetti carbonara, and kayak. Follow her @APstyle on X. Read more by her here: https://alanapedalino.com/#/.
