← FRONTRUNNERS · Season 1

Japanese Cheese Trailblazer - Shibata Chiyo

S1 · E6 · 19 Jul 2023 · 28 min

In rural Chiba Prefecture, Shibata Chiyo runs a pioneering cheeseworks out of a 120-year-old farmhouse. Her focus is 100% local fermented cheeses, and just three years after launching in 2014, she became the first female cheesemaker to win a prestigious award from Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, before going on to place third out of 3,804 entries in the 2019 World Cheese Awards. This time on FRONTRUNNERS, we follow a cheesemaker with a uniquely Japanese approach to fromage and sustainability.

Guest Stars (1)

Charles Glover as Self - Narrator (voice)