Carrboro Cheesemongers Compete at Cheese “Olympics” in NYC

Two of Carrboro’s prominent cheese professionals recently competed in the 2026 Cheesemonger Invitational (CMI) in New York City, testing their knowledge of all things cheese and having the time of their lives.

“It was amazing. It was one of the best things I’ve ever done in my life,” said Christi Miller-Gawthrop, cheesemonger and manager at Wedgewood Cheese Bar, 100 Brewer Lane. “I just brought back a greater love and respect for cheese.”

Sarah Wilkins, of the Flying Pierogi in South Green, who had competed several years ago at CMI and convinced Miller-Gawthrop to join her this year, also raved about the experience. “It reminded me what I love about this industry and why I want to open a cheese shop. People love cheese. You say you work in cheese and people are like, ‘oh! I love cheese!’”

“Scientifically, cheese plays on your dopamine to make you happy,” Miller-Gawthrop noted.

First, to define terms: Cheesemakers produce cheese, a process stumbled upon thousands of years ago as a delicious and nutritious way to preserve milk. Cheesemongers care for and sell cheese. Just as sommeliers are highly trained experts in wine, cheesemongers are well-versed in cheese. They can identify flavors, aromas, ingredients and are knowledgeable about the sourcing of any cheese. They also are experts in how to properly store and how to pair a particular cheese with a food and/or beverage that will complement it. 

The CMI, which started in 2010 and is often considered the cheesemonger Olympics, is an intense, rowdy, fun and competitive 6-hour event. This year’s contest, held at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan on June 28, brought together 46 of the finest cheesemongers from across the country to showcase their skills. 

“We wanted to showcase Carrboro – it’s such a gem!” said Wilkins.

Participants compete in a series of events beginning with a 30-question written test based on the Oxford Companion to Cheese, a definitive cheese encyclopedia.

Competitors also are asked to identify cheeses only by taste – no telltale rinds that might give a hint.

Judges also assessed how accurately the cheesemongers could slice a wedge of cheese to a specified weight and then wrap it quickly, attractively and securely in deli paper.

It’s part of the experience when you go to a cheese shop – you get your beautiful little package and take it home,” Wilkins said. “Kind of like when you buy an iPhone – the same kind of exciting [packaging] experience.”

Participants also whiffed vials of liquids to test how accurately they could identify particular aromas – much as sommeliers might detect notes of oak or vanilla in wine.

Because the event is open to the public, competitors also cut 100 perfect tiny bites of the various cheeses for audience members to sample. 

Participants are judged on creating a cheese board with foods that complement their assigned cheese as well as pairing the cheese with the “perfect” beverage.

Finally, the salesmanship portion of the competition calls on the cheesemongers to sell a customer a particular cheese before the cowbell timer dings.

“You’re also performing while you’re doing this, you know,” Wilkins said. “You want to be seen as endearing.”

“It was very intense,” Miller-Gawthrop said. “I was nervous the whole time.”

Miller-Gawthrop said that the judges complimented her on her pairings so it “took a little weight off my shoulders.”

“A lot of what this competition is, is basically everything we’ve been preparing for our whole lives,” Wilkins said.

Longtime friends, both she and Miller-Gawthrop have spent years in the restaurant business as servers and bartenders. Wilkins found her love of cheese when she moved to Philadelphia and ended up working at a wine, beer and cheese shop that trained staff on the finer points of the items they served.

“This whole world opened up, and I was like, cheese is so weird and it's just fascinating,” Wilkins remembered. She went on to take a job at an artisanal cheese shop in Florida where the owner taught her everything she knew about cheese. She returned to Philadelphia to work at the iconic Di Bruno Bros. cheese grocery and later, during the pandemic, she moved to New York City to work for Murray’s Cheese.

Working at Murray’s “was kind of like my highest achievement because I learned even more than I thought I could ever learn,” Wilkins said. As Murray’s liaison, she would train wait staff and kitchen staff at some of New York’s finest restaurants on how best to describe, serve, and care for fine cheese.

While in New York, she also connected with Stevie Webb, founder and owner of Wedgewood Cheese Bar in Carrboro. Returning to North Carolina to be closer to family, Wilkins worked with him as part of a cheese wholesale business.

Eventually, she connected Webb with her friend Miller-Gawthrop, who now is cheesemonger and manager at Wedgewood Cheese Bar. 

While CMI thrilled Miller-Gawthrop, she isn’t interested in getting her final ranking from the competition. For those who did not make the top five, the scores are still being tallied.

“I don’t even want to know what my score was. If someone told me, I’d be fine with it but I just don’t think it’s necessary. I had a great time. It was just such a good, wholesome experience,” she says, quoting a poster at the event that read “No one loses. You either win or you learn.”

Miller-Gawthrop is happy being a cheesemonger at Wedgewood Cheese Bar. “I’ve just wanted to do something I love and I’m doing that.”

Wilkins’s dream is to open her own cheese shop nearby. She is working up a business plan and is seeking investors to crowd fund the project.

“Absolutely [there’s a market here],” she said. “We have so many transplants from New York City, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Chicago, who are used to going to these small, Italian-style grocery stores and just picking up a couple of things.”

“Cheese counters are difficult; selling wine is difficult, but it’s not as difficult as restaurants. Your margins are higher. You need less staff, less space, less prep. All you need is a couple of good mongers, somebody who knows about cheese,” she said. “You know it’s gonna be maybe a little bit more expensive, but it’s gonna taste better. And you’re supporting wonderful human beings.”