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If there's one thing France takes seriously, it's cheese (along with wine, baguettes, and croissants, of course), and the country's cheese-making competition, the Mondial du Fromage, is far from being a quaint little tasting party with cute knives and polite applause. It’s a serious, skills-heavy showdown where cheesemongers get tested on everything from sensory precision to technical cutting and presentation, showing cheese the respect it deserves. So when an American took the top prize in France, it was nothing short of shocking.

The winner was Emilia D’Albero, a US cheesemonger who became the first American to win the Mondial du Fromage, known in English as the Cheesemonger World Cup. If you’ve ever felt like a cheese expert because you know how to put together a charcuterie board, she'll put you to shame instantly. Her story is a gentle reminder that the profession is closer to craft and performance than it is to snack selection. 

A competition that rewards mastery, not just taste

At the Mondial du Fromage, competitors don’t simply nibble and rank their favorites, because the event is built around multiple challenges designed to test real-world expertise. Contestants face a series of events that can include blind tasting, technical cutting tasks, and both oral and written components that reward deep knowledge.

Some of the tests sound straightforward until you picture doing them under pressure, with judges watching your hands and your decisions. One reported challenge involves cutting a specific amount of cheese from a wheel without using measuring tools, which is basically precision work disguised as a snack. Other parts lean academic, including written questions that can get highly specific, like identifying a breed of goat from a photo and knowing what cheeses its milk might produce. In the final round, the contestants must create a cheese sculpture (D’Albero’s was the phases of the moon).

That structure matters because it helps explain why D’Albero’s win is more than a fun headline. You don’t luck into first place in a multi-event system that tests technique, memory, sensory calibration, and communication all at once. It also means the winner has to be the full package: steady hands, a sharp palate, and a brain stocked with details that most people don’t even realize exist.

“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. It's also about "being a storyteller, and educating people... It’s definitely skilled labor”.

The long road from counter work to contender

D’Albero’s professional background reads like someone who learned by doing, not by collecting trivia for fun. She became fascinated with the history and cultural significance of food while studying Italian in college.

After graduating, she started working at Eataly in New York City, building knowledge through hands-on work and plenty of tasting, then developed further in the specialty cheese world. By the time she reached the international stage, she’d already put in the hours. 

In preparation for the competition, D’Albero trained for months, with the goal not necessarily being to win.

"I just didn’t want to embarrass myself," D’Albero told Food & Wine. "I wanted to represent our industry and our country as best I could”.

What her win says about American cheese culture

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D’Albero described her win as "mind-blowing" and "surreal" because it's more than just a gold medal. Her win marked the first time an American took home the prestigious top spot. It was also the first time Team USA sent two women as representatives. The other, Courtney Johnson of Seattle’s Street Cheese, placed third, which helped underline the depth of US talent at the top end of the field. It wasn’t just one standout performance; it was a signal that American cheesemongers can compete credibly on France’s turf.

There’s also a cultural ripple here that’s easy to miss if you focus only on the medal. D’Albero has spoken about wanting Americans to view cheesemongers as respected professionals rather than background retail workers.

“In Europe this is a well-respected profession, but in the US they think we work behind a deli counter,” she told CNN.

Finally, it’s worth noting that this victory doesn’t imply France has “lost” anything, because the competition’s prestige comes from how demanding it is and how international it has become. D’Albero winning in France can be read less as a takeover and more as proof that the cheese world is a shared ecosystem where excellence travels. 

“Cheesemongers deserve to be in the spotlight.

We deserve to be recognized for the work we do every day," she told Food & Wine. "If I have to be the person to go out and say, ‘Pay your cheesemongers more, be nice to your cheesemongers,’ I’m happy to do that. Putting cheese first is what matters”.