About Me: Nurper Özcan

World Cheese Awards judge

One of my most important international roles is serving as a judge at the World Cheese Awards, known as the world’s most prestigious cheese competition. It is organised by the UK-based Guild of Fine Food. Photos are on my World Cheese Awards page.

Education: from Mersin to Italy

I completed my university education at Mersin University, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Food Engineering. My interest in the dairy sector started during my university years. As an engineer dedicated to traditional and artisan production, I trained in cheesemaking in Türkiye and Italy, and completed the “Artisan Italian Cheesemaking: Technique & Production” programme at the Italian Culinary Institute in Calabria.

My work in Italy and at CoRFiLaC

I worked in dairies and farms producing traditional Italian cheeses in Puglia and Calabria in Southern Italy, as well as in Sicily and Sardinia. I take part in dairy studies at CoRFiLaC, an international applied research centre and consortium in Ragusa, Sicily, that studies traditional production. I contributed to this work with my study of Anatolian skin-ripened cheeses.

Working with dairies in Türkiye

I provide expert support to farms and dairies in Türkiye and abroad for dairy setup and the production of traditional Turkish and Italian cheeses. I have worked with businesses such as Eceköy, Manici Farm and OD Urla in particular, as well as Ardahan Alibey Dairy Products, Kesebir Dairy and Anux Farm. In Hakkari, together with the Çiçeklerin Özü Women’s Cooperative, we revived the almost forgotten shirden cheese rennet.

On screen and on stage

I appear as an expert guest on TRT 1’s “Alişan ile Hayata Gülümse”, talking about cheese and dairy, and I also appear regularly as an expert on Çağla ile Yeni Bir Gün on NOW. I gave a talk titled “Kadim Reçeteler” (Ancient Recipes) at TEDxReset. See the Media page for interviews.

Fratelli

Today I bring this experience to the table through Fratelli, the brand I founded with my siblings.