Ned Palmer

Ned’s cheese career began at Borough Market in December 2000, and he then joined Neal’s Yard Dairy in 2002 working on retail, wholesale and as an affineur, and travelling around the UK visiting cheesemakers.

During one visit to a farm in Somerset, it dawned on him that the fresh Sleightlett cheese made here was probably indistinguishable from what a Neolithic farmer would have produced. This inspired the first of three books on cheese: A Cheesemonger’s History of the British Isles, which was shortlisted for the André Simon and Fortnum and Mason food writing prizes. He has since released A Cheesemonger’s Compendium of British and Irish Cheese, published in 2021, and A Cheesemonger’s Tour De France, published in October 2024, as well as hosting talks and tastings through his company The Cheese Tasting Co.