Perry James
Wakeman
Chief of Cheese at Rennet & Rind. Three-time Affineur of the Year. Selecting, maturing and championing the very best of British artisan cheese.
of the Year
the Year
Rennet & Rind
World Cheese Awards
Matured in Cambridge
The Maker’s Champion
Perry Wakeman is Chief of Cheese at Rennet & Rind. He is known for his work in affinage, selecting and maturing British artisan cheese in the company’s Cambridge maturing rooms, and he is a firm advocate for the people behind it: the small, independent cheesemakers who keep British cheese interesting.
His approach has been shaped through years of refinement, experimentation and study with some of the world’s most experienced affineurs. The work itself is unglamorous: tasting, turning, washing, waiting. But it is the work that gets a cheese to the point where its flavour and texture are exactly where they should be.
In 2022, Perry was crowned the UK’s first ever Affineur of the Year, winning the title in the very first year the competition was held. Competitors were tasked with maturing a Quicke’s Cheddar for a full year. Perry’s cheese, named Priscilla, took both Supreme Champion and People’s Choice. He won again in 2023, and a third time in 2025, making him a three-time Affineur of the Year.
In 2024, in recognition of his contribution to the wider cheese world, Perry was inducted into the Guilde Internationale des Fromagers, the Brotherhood of the Patron Saint of Cheese.
He is also a respected judge. He has judged at the World Cheese Awards every year since 2018, serving as Captain Judge in Bergamo, Oviedo, Wales and Trondheim. In 2025 he represented England on the Super Jury at the World Cheese Awards in Bern, championing the eventual winner: an 18-month matured Le Gruyère AOP from Bergkäserei Vorderfultigen.
As CEO and Chief of Cheese at Rennet & Rind, Perry sits between British cheesemakers and the people eating the cheese. He selects each batch, then does the daily work that gets it ready, so every cheese reaches the table at its peak. Alongside that, he runs every other side of the business: the team, the buying, the brand, the website, the wholesale relationships, and the longer-term strategy. Affinage is the passion. The business is the engine that pays for it.
The work itself is unglamorous. Tasting, turning, washing, waiting. But it’s the work that gets a cheese to the point where flavour and texture are exactly where they should be.
The Work I Love Most
Maturing
Selecting cheeses straight from the dairy, then the daily work of turning, washing, brushing and tasting in the Cambridge maturing rooms. Every batch finished by hand, every wheel taken to its peak.
Tasting
Eight years on the World Cheese Awards bench, from Bergen to Bern. Captain Judge in Bergamo, Oviedo, Wales and Trondheim. In 2025, England’s Super Jury representative championing the world’s winning cheese.
Speaking Up
For the small farms and independent cheesemakers who make Britain’s best cheese. Inducted into the Guilde Internationale des Fromagers in 2024. Voted one of the country’s top cheese retailers.
Affinage is the passion. The business is the engine.
The romantic version of the job is in the maturing rooms. The real one is everywhere else as well.
Rennet & Rind is a small business with a big footprint, and Perry sits at the centre of all of it. From hiring and looking after the team, to the website, the marketing, the wholesale relationships, the buying, the IT, the finances, and the strategy. Every decision that keeps the lights on, and the cheese moving, lands on his desk.
The Ledger
A short list of moments that mattered.
Read Perry’s Blog
Notes from competitions, the maturing rooms, and the wider British cheese world. Tasting reports, behind-the-scenes from World Cheese Awards judging, and the occasional opinion piece.
Visit the BlogPodcast Appearances
Video Appearances
Cheese, camera, action.
Tasting notes, maturing room tours, cheesemaker visits, and the occasional field trip to a World Cheese Awards judging hall. The player on the left is wired straight to our YouTube uploads, so it always shows our latest video.
Taste what Perry has been maturing
Every cheese in our shop has been hand-selected by Perry and finished in our Cambridge maturing rooms. Sent to you at peak.