Sweet dreams are made of cheese for internationally renowned dairy judge

To many, making, tasting and judging cheese for a living is the ultimate dream, but for Russell Smith of Bemboka, it has been his life and career since 2002.

Beginning in a "very small" pastel pink and blue shingled weatherboard house in Toowoomba, his father Alan, "a good friend", opened his mind to cheese possibilities.

"I'm very fortunate that he introduced us to all those great cheddars," said Mr Smith, whose father brought home raw milk cheeses from rural farms.

"Aroma and flavours are so close to your memory circuits in your brain, those memories of childhood stuff stay with you."

The second stage to put him on his current career trajectory reduced his university food budget through buying charcuterie and cheese at the delicatessen.

But a six-month trip to France revealed what cheese was really about.

"I came back saying this is the world I want to live in."

Mr Smith, who began in a retail and distribution role in Canberra, is currently the chief judge for the Australian Grand Dairy Awards.

"For most, and for me, it's about giving back to an industry you've worked in," he said.

His work in Canberra helped to develop a very finely tuned palette, since he "had to taste the cheese" before he sold it, resulting in tasting up to 100 cheeses, 50 weeks of the year.

"I got to Sydney and thought, 'This is easy.' You've got the standard in your brain set."

During cheese judging competitions, Mr Smith uses plain crackers to cleanse his palette and sparkling mineral water to rinse his mouth.

"The bubbles help to take the fat off your mouth."

Spitting the cheese is also necessary since swallowing it will make the brain limit your ability to analyse if you're full.

Mr Smith believes the most useful thing that he does in the industry is the 'Camembert in the Classroom' program, which allows "science teachers to eat their science projects".

Requiring minimal equipment - a few plastic containers and supermarket milk - Mr Smith demonstrates the cheesemaking process, teachers reteach it to their students, and a few months later Mr Smith judges 300 cheeses at an award ceremony.

"We've been running that for 10 years and we've probably had 8000 kids go through that now. It's brilliant," said Mr Smith with a smile.

Cheese is generally judged by three criteria, four points for presentation, six points for texture - "the luscious mouth feel", and 10 points for taste, though overall scores change from continual comparison.

In his home office, sandwiched between shelves that contain folders, sits a shelf lined with books - Cheese matters, The Oxford Companion to Cheese, Gourmet's Guide to Cheese, and The Fundamentals of Cheese Science - to name a few.

A multitude of colourful lanyards hang as a reminder of previous competitions globally, while the wall is filled with gold medallions from his service as contest judge in Wisconsin.

He looks up from the wooden dining room table and asked, "Do you want to continue this yarn or do you want to have some cheese?" before slicing some cheddar.

And to answer the question of Mr Smith's favourite cheese, he said it is...

"Whatever I'm eating at the time."

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