How does one become a Cheesemonger?

Contents

1. How to care for cheese like a Monger
2. The passion in the cheese industry
3. Certifications in cheese
4. The wandering path of a Cheesemonger

Paved with Brick or laden with Tommes, the path to cheese can be a very varied one for us Mongers. 

My own path into the world of cheese was a winding one. I did not set out in my younger years with my eyes on a career in cheese. As I have traveled along, I found I was not alone. Talking with some of my colleagues has assured me that the cheese profession is full of passion and a quest for knowledge (that we love to share!) and welcoming to anyone from any life story. So, you get a job in cheese. Be that a Monger at a small specialty shop or a large supermarket retailer. What does that entail?

The Care, Maintenance, and Selling of Cheese

A Cheesemonger knows not just what a cheese tastes like, but why—how it was crafted, how it will mature, and how to shepherd it from whole wheel to final slice. They carefully control temperature and humidity, maintain proper airflow, face the cut surface, wrap and rewrap with purpose, rotate inventory, and track each piece to its moment of peak ripeness—all in anticipation of presenting you with the best bite of cheese. Want more information on how to care for your cheese like a Monger? Check out our blog: Caring for Cheese like a Cheesemonger

The Passion Behind the Counter

Cheesemongers cultivate deep product knowledge—tasting constantly, visiting producers, and mastering the stories, science, and sensory nuances behind every wheel—while Grotto owners begin building that same awareness at home, learning how environment, airflow, and time shape flavor and quality. Both develop an appreciation for artisan and local makers, seeking out cheeses worthy of proper care and thoughtful tending. And just like a monger behind the counter, a Grotto owner embraces pairing, peak ripeness, and those joyful “trust me, try this” moments that turn good cheese into an experience.

The Knowledge Behind the Counter

Professional Cheesemongers often train using the American Cheese Society Body of Knowledge for the Certified Cheese Professional (CCP)—essentially an onboarding roadmap for mastering the craft. It covers:

• Health, regulations, and food safety
  

• Operations and inventory management
  

• Cheese history, milk science, and cheesemaking
  

• Ripening, assessment, and evaluation
  

• Selling, service, transport, and business practices
  

The American Cheese Society also offers the Certified Cheese Sensory Evaluator® (ACS CCSE®) designation which recognizes professionals who have passed the ACS CCSE® Exam and exhibit knowledge and skills in the assessment of cheese:

• Determine cheese condition and quality

• Evaluate cheese flavor, body, texture, and appearance

• Identify the unique aromas found in cheese attributes by smell/olfactory assessment

In other words, that “quick recommendation” you get at the counter is backed by serious expertise.

The Winding Road of a few of our finest Cheesemongers

Jessica Becker, with cheese stars in her eyes

Jessica Becker ACS CCP, ACS CCSE 

Sales and Promotion Coordinator

Fortune Fish Gourmet

"Degree in Medieval English Literature —super unemployable. Went to culinary school and played Chef for a decade, then culinary school teacher. Covid hit, was starting cheese mongering at a specialty grocery store. Loved it.

Started working towards getting a CCP. Found that cheese encompassed everything I had been learning for the past 30 yrs.

Took online classes with UVM, Stanford continuing education, spent a week in France learning with Mons Affineurs and passed the CCP and a few years later, CCSE.

Cheese people are the best people"

Jessica Pierce

Jessica Pierce ACS CCP

Affineur for Jasper Hill

"I started out as a deli supervisor, but I wasn’t receiving the training I felt I needed to truly succeed in the role.

Whenever there was downtime, I’d head over to the mongers and ask if they needed help—or if they’d be willing to teach me something new.

When an apprenticeship <apprenticeship in the Artisan Cheese department at a local grocery store> opened up, I applied immediately.

 I went on to work as a Cheesemonger for 6–7 years.

During that time, I spent about six months studying intensively to prepare for the CCP (Certified Cheese Professional) exam.

Mongering is, hands down, the best job in the cheese industry.

Currently, I work as an Affineur <a cheese aging expert>for Jasper Hill as part of the soft cheese team. I am the line leader for our hand cut and wrap program and am also part of the Jasper Hill street team, where I go to events to serve and/or sell our cheese.

A little more about me:

I hold a Bachelor of Fine Arts with concentrations in painting and ceramics.

I love going all out in costume for Renaissance festivals.

I handmade an Ezio costume from Assassin’s Creed and wore it to the Minnesota Renaissance Festival—people kept asking where I bought it! 😈"

Liz Nerud, taking her job to the next level

Photo credit: Kerry Jerred

Liz Nerud ACS CCP

Kowalski's Markets

"I started working in the grocery business in 1999, starting in the catering department at Lunds and Byerly's.  They had installed one of the very first grocery store cheese counters in a grocery store in the Twin Cities a year or two prior.  Kowalski's Markets also began their cheese program around 2000 and I was thrilled to join their team in 2017 as a department manager at that time.  I appreciate the fact that for Kowalski's the Specialty Cheese department is not a subset of the deli but rather its own entity.  This allows for a greater concentration of resources and imagination to create innovation and excellence.

I quickly left catering when a position at the cheese counter became available!  I was attracted to the novelty of promoting cheese.  I had grown up in Wisconsin with its very cheese centric culture and I knew there was so much to learn.  I was captivated by how cheeses were created, what made them all so different!  I loved connecting to the makers, whether in person or reading about them.  The greatest resource we had back in the day was The Cheese Primer by Steve Jenkins. It is so awesome to have the vast materials we have today.  I love how there are so many perspectives and cheese celebrities that have a solid foundation in cheese knowledge.  I have been inspired by the way our industry has always placed an emphasis on creating a cohesive, creative and celebratory energy.  The collaborative nature is very attractive to me.

My thirst for cheese knowledge took on a scholarly path when I studied and sat for the American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professional exam in 2013.  This is a very serious undertaking and requires tremendous focus and study.  I was proud to pass the exam the second year that it was offered.  I consider it to be akin to a marriage certificate because the real work begins once you get it.  There is always so much more to learn and appreciate.  It did propel my career forward with promotions and additional responsibilities within both the cheese industry and the grocery industry.

My main joy has always been connecting with my customers at the store, welcoming them with the hospitality I learned growing up in farm country.  Always comfortable, always good conversation.  I enjoy creating an atmosphere that welcomes and makes people feel at home, even though the cheese counter can be intimidating!  I meet people where they are at, suggesting things I think they will like and then expand their appreciation.  I love the fact that specialty cheese is the opposite of generic.  It has history, science, land, animals and people, all of which makes for great storytelling. I get to connect customers with the product! This is the real point of it all, isn't it?  My favorite thing is when a customer returns and tells me that they enjoyed the cheese, how they enjoyed it and who they enjoyed it with.  It goes from being a perfunctory experience to being something that enhances the pleasure of life.  They got to tell the story too."

Me?

Kerry Jerred ACS CCP

Founder

Forage to Fromage LLC

Cheese Grotto Customer Service Lead

 

Well, I have always said that cheese is like a lost kitten, it finds you. I am a good example of that uncommon colloquialism.

I’ve always been fascinated by how things are made. As a child, sitting still simply wasn’t an option—our hands were always busy, our minds always learning. We tied macramé knots and practiced fine woodworking, helped with boat building, stitched needlepoint and cross-stitch, dipped candles, shaped pottery, pieced together stained glass, cooked, knitted, crocheted, hooked rugs—you name it. Making was just part of living. I even made my own wedding gown. And as I sit here writing this, I’m baking Brazilian cheese bread with Imperial Buck from Deer Creek, because creating—especially with food—still feels like home.

I headed to UW–Madison to study Metallurgical Engineering and somehow graduated with a BS in Interior Design. Yes, really. Life has a funny way of shaping us.

At 24, I had the great privilege of becoming an at-home mom, pouring that same creativity and energy into raising my family. In 2005, I stepped back into the workforce as a cashier at a local grocery store—the same year I became a founding board member of a charter school, where I served for ten years.

During my 15 years at the grocery store, five were spent as the cheesemonger. I loved every minute of it. Cheese brought together everything that has always captivated me—the craft, the science, the process, the inspiration behind what’s made by hand. It felt less like a job and more like a continuation of the lifelong curiosity that’s always guided me.

COVID sent me home from the store. 2019 was also the same year I founded my biz, Forage to Fromage. I studied and sat for my CCP in 2021 – and PASSED!

I wrote a very serendipitous email to Jessica Sennett asking if she needed help with her virtual events during that time and she said yes! Turns out, I had bought one of the first Cheese Grottos (2016) well before we ever communicated.

So, yes, that kitten found me.

See my Grotto story: Used, and better than ever.

And what about our fearless leader? 

Learn all about Jessica and her path here: Her story

Jessica Sennett

Founder

Inventor

Cheese Grotto