MONROE — It’s a rare chance to sample world-class cheeses right in Monroe, but that opportunity presents itself May 7.

Guests attending the World Championship Cheese Tasting, presented by the Monsignor Thomas F. Campion Charitable Fund, will experience a rare and centuries-old delicacy: Tête de Moine, a distinctive cheese crafted exclusively in the Jura region of Switzerland.

Unlike traditional cheese sampling, Tête de Moine is not served in cubes or slices. Instead, it is shaved into delicate, flower-like rosettes using a special tool known as a Girolle. The process creates thin spirals that enhance both the flavor and aroma of the cheese. The rind falls away in fine crumbs, leaving a delicate flower-shaped bite. Some compare it to Gruyère — but lighter and perhaps more complex.

“It’s got a flavor that’s all its own,” said Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker Jeff Wideman.

Wideman has toured more than 75 cheese plants across Europe, on trips organized by the Wisconsin Cheesemakers Association. For the upcoming cheese tasting, he will recreate a display inspired by his visit to the Swiss creamery in the Jura region, complete with the authentic girolle cutter.

Dating back more than 800 years, Tête de Moine was first produced by monks at the Abbey of Bellelay in the Swiss Jura Mountains. Its name — French for “Monk’s Head” — reflects the appearance of the cheese after it has been shaved, revealing a smooth, rounded top reminiscent of a monk’s tonsure (bald head on top with ring of hair above the ears).

Tête de Moine placed third in its class at the recent World Championship Cheese Contest. In a highly competitive field of 43 entries in the washed rind, smear-ripened category (aged over four months), it finished just 0.10 points behind second place.

The World Championship Cheese Tasting offers attendees the opportunity to sample award-winning cheeses from the world’s premier dairy competition, which included 3,375 entries from countries such as Germany, Austria, Australia, Switzerland, the Netherlands, France, Italy, and Portugal. A Dutch Gouda earned top honors.

“People have no idea what they get to see and taste at this event,” said Wideman.

While tickets that include the pork chop dinner are sold out, guests who don’t mind skipping the pork chop are invited to make a $40 donation to the Monsignor Thomas F. Campion Charitable Fund to take part in the cheese tasting.