A former accountant who stunned France by taking its top award for cheese experts told how he has a stallholder in Borough Market to thank for his success.
Matthew Feroze, 30, of Clapham, won the Concours National Des Fromagers this month, after moving to Lyon and learning to be a cheesemonger.
He credits stallholder Jon Thrupp with helping him get a job at the renowned Fromagerie Mons-Etienne Boissy in Lyon.
Mr Feroze moved to France with fiancée Jennifer Wainwright, taking a two-year unpaid sabbatical from his job at the National Audit Office.
He said: “I used to love going to the Mons cheese stall in Borough Market so one day I started talking to Jon.
"He gave me loads of advice and some contacts which is how I ended up at the shop in Lyon.”
Mr Thrupp, who has run the stall since 2006, said: “The owner of the shop in Lyon phoned me to say that if that’s the quality of the people I’m going to send over, then I should keep doing it.”
