Josiane Déal, Meilleur Ouvrier de France Fromager 2004, is the Honorary President of the 2024 edition!

Josiane Déal was initially an antique book restorer. She then met her husband Christian, who was already working in the dairy industry, which inspired her to move into cheesemaking. This turned out to be a successful career move and, after years of honing her craft, Josiane was awarded the title of ‘Meilleur Ouvrier de France’ in 2004.

Following this seal of approval, she was acknowledged as one of Europe's top 4 cheesemakers in the 2010 Wall Street Journal.

Since 1990, her cheese shop ‘Lou Canesteou’ in Vaison-la-Romaine, Vaucluse, has been selling a wide variety including Comté, Bleu, Saint-Marcellin, Banon, etc. Dubbed the "Queen of Cheese in Provence" by Gault&Millau, she stepped down from running her shop in 2020, but continues to spread her passion for cheese to this day.