Juliet Harbutt is a New Zealand cheese expert.[2] She is an author, judge, consultant, campaigner, speaker, educator and tour guide. She acted as consultant to Prince Charles and Alex James when they were developing their own cheeses.[3] In the 1990s she worked with Tesco in devising their cheese classification system.[4] In 2000 she created The Great British Cheese Festival.
Juliet Harbutt
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|---|---|
| Born |
Auckland, New Zealand
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| Other names | Master of Cheese [1] |
| Occupation(s) | Cheese expert: author, educator, judge, campaigner, consultant, trainer and speaker |
| Website | www.thecheeseweb.com |
In the 1970s Harbutt opened a café deli, The Parson’s Nose in Wellington, New Zealand. In 1983, while travelling around Europe, she attended cookery classes in Paris,[5] where she discovered a passion for cheese, saying it was “a revelation to someone who had grown up with block cheddar.”[6] She also visited Steven Spurrier’s wine shop Les Caves de la Madeleine.[7]
After selling The Parson’s Nose she moved to England in 1983,[8] where she co-founded Jeroboams – the Wine and Cheese Shop, in South Kensington, which was “largely responsible for introducing London to a whole new cheese concept.” After realising that “selling cheese was not enough” she sold the company to her partner in 1991, moved to the Cotswolds in Oxfordshire, where she ran cheese-related masterclasses and events and began to publish books.[9]
She acted as a cheese consultant for clients that included Tesco, Harrods and Marks & Spencer.[10][11] She has judged cheese competitions in Switzerland, France and America.[12] She is a member of the Guild des Fromagers - Confrerie de Saint-Uguzon and Chevaliers de Tastefromage.[13] In 1992 she was given the title Confrerie des Chevaliers du Taste-Fromage de France.[14] She has been a visiting lecturer at the University of Gastronomic SciencesinPollenzo, Italy.[15] She has helped many people design and launch their own cheeses, including the then Prince Charles and her Cotswolds neighbour, Alex James.[16][17]
Highlights include:
In 2016, after 35 years in England she moved to Hawke's Bay, New Zealand[27] where she established Hunter Gatherer Tours.[28]
Harbutt made two cheeses with Alex James: Little Wallop (2007) and Farleigh Wallop (2009),[29] the latter won the Best Goat’s Cheese award at the 2009 British Cheese Awards.[30]
She created the Simply the Best range, a selection of award-winning artisanal English cheeses, including Creamy Lancashire, Smoked Lyburn and Double Gloucester.[31]
She has written for magazines, including Bon Appétit (USA), Cheese Buyer Magazine,[33] Speciality Food,[34] Dish.co.nz,[35] and NZ House and Garden.[36]
Harbutt has made regular radio appearances. She has also appeared on BBC 1's Eat Your Words (1996),[37] Ready Steady Cook, Saturday Kitchen, The Hairy Bikers' Food Tour of Britain (2009), Come Dine with Me (winner) (2009)[38][39] and BBC 4's The Food Programme - A Life Through Food (2015).[40]
Eat Up! The Best British Cooking Is Not Dead, It’s Just Hiding (2010) Pub. Kyle Cathie
