CHEESE connoisseur and SA premium food and wine ambassador Kris Lloyd has made her mark on the international cheese industry.
She was recently in London as the first SA judge at the World Cheese Awards, and was the only Australian represented on the judging panel at this year's event.
Kris said she was really excited about the opportunity to take part in what she describes as "cheese heaven".
The competition involves about 3000 cheeses from 26 countries.
"The enormity of it is incredibly exciting," she said. "In Australia we might get a couple of hundred cheeses entered in a show. It's like having a birdseye view of the cheeses within a country without having to travel to each."
She said she was proud to be representing SA and the nation.
"It is great that we're taken seriously,'' she said. "I think we do food really well here in SA and we should own that and be really proud of that."
She also paid attention to elements of the cheese show to see if there was anything she might be able to glean for the state's own shows, particularly Cheesefest, which celebrate its 10th year in 2015.