Martin Whitfield MSP has visited the Cheese Lady shop in Haddington to congratulate owner Svetlana Kukharchuk on being named Scottish Business Woman of the Year at the National Business Women’s Awards 2023.

The visit follows on from Mr Whitfield having tabled a motion at the Scottish Parliament at the time of Ms Kukharchuk’s award success in November last year.

As well as the individual achievement at the prestigious UK-wide awards, the Cheese Lady, which sells farmhouse and artisan cheeses, was also named the regional winner for Scotland at the Farm Shop and Deli Retailer Awards in 2022.

Commenting after his visit, Martin Whitfield MSP said:

“It was a pleasure to meet Svetlana to find out more about the Cheese Lady and congratulate her in person on her huge success in being named Scottish Business Woman of the Year.

“As a cheese lover myself, I really enjoyed the chance to hear more about the way Svetlana has developed the business over the last few years and how she is helping her customers to try an exciting range of new and different cheeses.

“She has built the Cheese Lady into a highly successful business and well recognised local brand, which has resulted in this well-deserved recognition and I wish her continued success in the future.”

Svetlana Kukharchuk said:

“It was wonderful to meet and greet Martin at The Cheese Lady store in Haddington and discuss the journey of our business over the last six years. While I’m still pinching myself over being named Scottish Business Woman of the Year, I sincerely hope it serves as inspiration for other aspiring female entrepreneurs.

“In our conversation, I made sure to bring up the concerning fact that East Lothian lacks farmhouse or artisan cheese producers. I’m hopeful that our dialogue will ignite greater support for emerging cheesemakers in the region.”

Find out more about the Cheese Lady at https://thecheeselady.co.uk/.