Will Studd

Studd has been working with artisan and farmhouse cheeses for more than four decades and has traveled extensively in his vocation.

In January 2002, Studd challenged minor changes to Australian food regulations relating to raw milk cheese by importing 80 kilograms of Roquefort as a test case.

It took 21 months before the court reached a decision, but during the delay Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) changed the dairy regulations to allow the production and sale of hard-cooked cheeses made from raw milk.

Two years later FSANZ also granted a special exemption for the sale of Roquefort in Australia (Amendment A 499) after an 11-year ban.

Studd lodged applications with FSANZ for similar exemptions for the production and sale of all European raw milk cheese in 2004 (A530/5310).

After a delay of five years, FSANZ finally announced a review of the domestic regulations on the production and sale of raw milk cheese in Australia in 2009 (P1007) In 2008, the New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) allowed the sale of Roquefort on the basis of the Australian report (A499).

In recent years, he has created a 'Selected by Will Studd' range of benchmark cheeses, each one carefully chosen for its provenance, texture, aroma and flavour.

[5] Since 2002, Studd has been an executive producer and presenter of 'Cheese Slices', the world's only television series focused on international artisan and traditional handmade cheeses filmed in two dozen countries.

'Cheese Slices' was conceived by Will Studd and Producer/Director/Editor Michael Ross Robinson of Squid Ink Media.

Over the last decade, they have separately traveled Australia and the world, working with celebrated mongers and makers; learning to make, mature and sell cheese.