Diane has a £5m nose – for the very best cheddar

HER nose is small and pert – but it is being insured for a massive £5million after Diane Cox landed the enviable job of sniffing and tasting cheddar cheese.

Mrs Cox, 48, right, has just started as master grader at leading cheese-maker Wyke Farms of Somerset.

Her job is to use her olfactory skills to detect which young blocks of cheese will mature to a fine vintage cheddar.

And her skills are so highly valued that her bosses are willing to pay a premium of £25,000 a year with Lloyd’s of London to insure her specialist snout.

The 155-year-old company supplies 15,000 tons of cheddar a year to the UK and 160 other countries.

Mrs Cox told The Mail on Sunday she took great care not to damage her nose or catch colds. ‘I have a very fine sense of smell and have had it since I was a young girl,’ she said.

‘I am very protective about avoiding infections and keep very healthy and fit. I just don’t want there to be a detrimental effect on my sense of smell or taste.

‘I feel there is a quite a responsibility grading cheese and my job generates a lot of feedback. People are really intrigued. Most are deeply envious and think it’s one of the best jobs in the world.’

She has to eat more than a pound of cheddar four days a week – a total of 184lb a year. Average consumption per adult in Britain is just over 26lb.

‘I love cheese and as well as supporting local Somerset cheese I like continental bries and blue cheese.’