"Cheese matures. And so you have a different flavour every week. That's what I like so much about it": Michaela Beholz has been working with cheese for 25 years. And just like a good cheese, her love for this versatile product had to develop first. Today, the head of the cheese counter department at REWE Stanislawski & Laas in Hamburg-Winterhude is not only the builder of what is probably the largest cheese line (40 metres) ever built in a (Hamburg) supermarket. She and her team are also the winners of the Cheese Star 2025 in the category over 3,500 square metres of retail space. The REWE Centre owned by former football coach Holger Stanislawski and former HSV player Alexander Laas is located in Hamburg-Winterhude, a district "that spends money well and gladly", says Michaela Beholz, who regularly incorporates her customers' recommendations and wishes into the product range, which impressed the Käse-Star jury with its variety of specialities, organic and regional varieties and homemade fresh cheeses. "We also do crazy things, like cream cheese in a French roll style," says Beholz.

Creativity is needed for "craziness" - and the freedom to live it out. Gyula Wetzel, Michaela Beholz's line manager as Head of Service, knows this too. Both he and the store owners are happy to be convinced by the cheese team's ideas and give them a free hand when it comes to choosing the product range and suppliers. Because, according to Wetzel: "Employees need to feel valued and part of the team. This also means that they can contribute their suggestions." After all, a prerequisite for successful participation in a competition such as the Cheese Star organised by the trade magazine Lebensmittelpraxis is "the involvement of the employees. You can't go ahead and the team doesn't know where it's going."

For department manager Beholz, the freedom and trust that the owner and service manager have in their work are the basis for "allowing us to develop". This pays off: "We work with love and heart, and our customers notice that". This has now been recognised with the "Cheese Star 2025" award.

Every year, the trade magazineLebensmittel Praxisrecognises and awards prizes to the best cheese service counters in Germany. The prize is awarded in three categories, divided according to store size. Since 2024, an additional prize has also been awarded for the best pre-pack counter. There are three nominees for each of the four prizes. After the pre-selection, which is made on the basis of application documents and an on-site visit, a jury of experts from retail and industry decides on the winning teams.REWEwas again representedon this jurythis year by thecheese consultants Nadyn Hörcher (REWE West) and Marita Reimers (REWE Nord).

In the category sales area up to 2,000 square metres: REWE Wörrstadt with cheese specialist Elif Yagli. The cheese counter team in the Rhine-Hessian wine-growing region not only provides expert advice on which cheese goes well with which wine, but is also extremely friendly. This is mainly due to the atmosphere in the team. "We are all happy to work here," says Erstkraft Yagli. "There's a lot of laughter here".

The REWE Centre Heidelberg-Handschuhsheim, which has already won several industry awards, including Supermarket of the Year, narrowly missed out on victory in the "2,000 to 3,500 m²" category. Andreas Radtke, one of the few men behind a cheese counter, emphasised the importance of organic and regional cheeses at his counter, which is popular with "high society, such as Hoffenheim's footballers", but also with Travel and Tourism and students.

REWE Benjamin Haase from the holiday resort of Neustadt/Holstein was among the nominees for the "best pre-pack counter". Counter specialist Sabrina Babel explained the concept: "Our range differs from the self-service counter and the service area." Seasonal varieties and customised sizes attract campers and boat owners in particular. From the end of October, with the end of the holiday season, the counter will then reduce its range with a view to the local clientele, "then it will be smaller and more civilised again."