THE PEOPLE’S CHEESE 2026, BRITAINS BEST NEW CHEESE IS BACK!
Sunday 17 May 2026 - Chiswick Cheese Market
Sharpen your taste buds and steady your crackers, The People’s Cheese is back for 2026!
In 2026, we’re once again celebrating the bold, the brilliant, and the beautifully made new cheeses of Britain and Ireland, in partnership with our friends at Chiswick Cheese Market, proud supporters of The People’s Cheese 2026: Britain’s Best New Cheese.
Cheesemakers! Enter your fabulous cheese here.
Entries for The People’s Cheese 2026: Britain’s Best New Cheese are now open until Monday 4th May 2026.
If you’ve launched a new artisan cheese in the UK or Ireland since January 2025, this is your moment. Throw your hat (and your cheese) in the ring! Get involved below and good luck!
Be a Cheese Judge - taste and judge for free!
Round 1, Heats Sunday 17th May 2026
Venue: Outside at Chiswick Cheese Market
Once again, we’re calling on the great British (and Irish) cheese-loving public to do what they do best — taste, deliberate, and decide.
There will be three rounds of public judging:
The last two events were packed, so come early, bring your palate, and help choose the 2026 finalists.
Simply turn up, sign in on the day or below write now, taste, and vote. It’s democracy, with cheese.
Round 2, Semi Final Saturday 11th July 2026
Venue, Slow Food & Earth Market - Lopemede Farm, Long Crendon
The semi finals will be hosted by Marcus Brigstocke, World Cheese Judge & Comedian & Actor.
Join us at the UK’s first combined Slow Food & Earth Market a fabulous day out for all the family, music, workshops, delicious farm to fork eats and demonstrations. All set in the glorious Buckinghamshire countryside at Lopemede Farm. An ethical and sustainable farm practising agroecology, working with nature. Book your tickets below!
Round 3, The Final Thursday 15th October 2026
Online webinar. Streamed live, hosted by World Cheese Judge & Comedian the brilliant Marcus Brigstocke, plus a team of cheese experts. They’ll chat, champion, and pontificate, but remember, you hold the power. The final vote is 100% in the hands of the people.
To take part, simply reserve your tasting box from The Real Cheese Project (available soon) and tune in on the night to help crown Britain’s Best New Cheese 2026.
This is a real opportunity to help promote and champion new cheese and cheesemakers in the UK - your vote genuinely counts.
Big cheesy love The Real Cheese Project.