A HADDINGTON business has been saying ‘cheese’ for the photographer after scooping a top national prize.

The Cheese Lady was one of four entrants representing Scotland at the Farm Shop and Deli Show Retailer Awards in Birmingham.

Winners were announced on Monday evening, with the Court Street business taking top prize ahead of The Brand Family Larder, from East Fortune, as well as The Crieff Food Company and The House of Bruar, near Blair Atholl.

Svetlana Kukharchuk, from the Haddington business, was delighted with the success.

She said: “I was in complete disbelief – I really could not believe it.

“My mind was blown to pieces and I was very excited and overjoyed.

“I just felt like I was on top of the world.”

Svetlana, who lives in Dunbar, travelled to the event in Birmingham where awards were handed out for nine different regions.

Winners were presented with a special carved wooden board and a certificate.

The winner for Scotland said: “The prize is the recognition of what we have done.

“That is the most important thing.

“It is amazing to be able to bring it to East Lothian and Haddington and have it here to shine a light on our little town in recognition of the good things we are doing here.”

Customers have been quick to offer their congratulations to Svetlana, who first opened on the town’s High Street in November 2017.

Nearly 100 people have left comments on Facebook in less than 24 hours and mum-of-one Svetlana said: “We have had some people coming in the shop.

“I was surprised to hear that they already knew!

“I could not believe how quickly the news had travelled – good news travels very fast as well!”

Last May, the business, which employs two people, moved to larger premises on the nearby Court Street.

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Thirty-nine-year-old Svetlana, who was congratulated by food and drink broadcaster Nigel Barden, said: “We outgrew our previous shop.

“It was so tiny and it made sense we took it on to begin with.

“It was manageable but we quickly outgrew it.

“During the pandemic, we started doing more deliveries and needed more space for packaging, more stock and stuff like that.

“One of my goals and aspirations was to have a cheese maturation room, which we have now in our current shop.

“We can mature our own cheeses.

“When this place came up, it was ticking so many boxes.

“People can come in have a little experience with cheese and wine and savour life.”

An esteemed panel of judges took into consideration the ways in which retailers adapted and evolved their businesses to demonstrate innovation and sustainability.

Comments on The Cheese Lady included praise for the company’s website and “the cheese look incredible!”