What sets us apart
Nous nous engageons à partager les technologies et méthodes de fabrication fromagères françaises qui accompagnent nos clients dans la production du fromage complexe dont ils rêvent.
Who we work with
Nous nous engageons à partager les technologies et méthodes de fabrication fromagères françaises qui accompagnent nos clients dans la production du fromage complexe dont ils rêvent.
Rencontrez l'équipe
Julia Chistova
Fondateur et directeur général
Following her Master’s degree in Agricultural Engineering, Julia founded France Process. She brings nearly 20 years of experience in the engineering and design of cheesemaking production facilities. Her work focuses on translating clients’ production objectives into technically coherent projects through the selection, integration, and coordination of appropriate cheesemaking equipment. This engineering-driven approach has led to the development of France Process’s own industrial cheesemaking equipment subsidiary (France Process Manufacturing), built on the team’s extensive field experience and technological expertise. Deeply passionate about French cheese technology, Julia has been organising advanced cheese technology training courses in France since 2016, bringing together professionals from around the world. This long-term commitment led naturally to France Process establishing its own cheese technology R&D centre in Burgundy in 2025, dedicated to innovation, testing, and knowledge transmission. Julia leads a multidisciplinary team of engineers, installation specialists, service technicians, and project managers supporting clients worldwide.
Ksenia Warnett
Directeur commercial
Ksenia is an engineer by background with an MBA in Food and Agribusiness who has worked in the agricultural and food industries for over 20 years. Ksenia leads the UK sales team as well as overseeing service and maintenance contracts for our UK clients.
Nadège Bel
Directeur de production et technologue fromager
Nadège has worked in the technical field of cheesemaking for nearly 20 years. Having been born and raised in the Haute-Savoie, Nadège was the head of the cheese technology department at ACTALIA Dairy Products until 2024, and then as the Technical Manager of the « Coopérative de Thônes – Le Farto » overseeing both the on-farm making and artisanal making of Reblochon AOP, Abondance AOP and Tomme de Savoie IGP. Nadège is highly experienced in troubleshooting and resolving microbiological and other issues in cheesemaking, developing new recipes and improving cheesemaking yield.
Stacey Hedges
Sales Director
Stacey is one of the best-known artisan cheesemakers in the UK, having setup and run the Hampshire Cheese company for 20 years. Stacey created Tunworth and Winslade, two of the best regarded soft cheeses in the UK. Since retiring from cheesemaking in 2024, Stacey has joined the France Process as sales director, with a mission to bring the world of French cheesemaking equipment and expertise to British and Australian cheese professionals.
Patrick Heathcoat Amory
Head Cheesemaker
Patrick began his career as an Environmental Scientist, spending 14 years working in the field before his background in microbiology led him into cheesemaking. After seven years as Head Cheesemaker, followed by senior roles as Production Manager and R&D Director, he joined France Process as Head Cheesemaker at the Château de Villeferry fromagerie. In addition to overseeing cheesemaking at the château, Patrick works closely with Nadège on R&D projects, supporting clients worldwide in the improvement of existing cheesemaking recipes and the development of new products.
Jean-Michel Perrier
Technical Director
With more than three decades of experience in the food-processing industry, Jean-Michel Perrier leads the technical development of France Process Manufacturing. His expertise spans the design, manufacture, and optimisation of bespoke food manufacture and processing equipment, and he works closely with project managers to translate operational requirements into reliable, high-performance technical solutions.
Ivan Golikov
Natalia Belayeva
Technical Director
Ivan has been a member of the team since 2014, expertly overseeing installation, optimisation and maintenance projects as well as managing relationships with our customers and our suppliers. Ivan conducts or coordinates all service and maintenance works, as well as overseeing equipment maintenance, including remote diagnostics and technical support.
Deputy Director - France Process Armenia
Natalia has been a key member of the France Process team since 2016. She combines deep organisational expertise with a practical, detail-driven approach, overseeing document management, contract administration, and logistics coordination to ensure the smooth and efficient operation of projects across the company.
Dmitry Golikov
Deputy Technical Director
A member of the France Process team since 2015, Dmitry leads the design and delivery of our cheesemaking installations. He designs all systems in CAD and project-manages each installation from concept through construction and on-site commissioning. His work places particular emphasis on optimised process flow, hygienic design, and compliance with dairy-industry best practices, ensuring installations that are both efficient and robust in operation.
Daria Chistova
Kevin Le Yoncourt
Project Manager
Daria is a mechanical engineer with a master’s degree in Fluid Mechanics Engineering. Fluent in English and French, with intermediate German and Spanish, she helps translate clients’ objectives into practical cheesemaking process and equipment solutions and supports the delivery of international projects.
Project Manager
Kévin holds a Master’s degree in International Trade and supports France Process in Spain as Project Manager. He helps identify opportunities, accompanies early discussions with cheesemakers, and works closely with technical and project teams to ensure smooth coordination. Having spent one and a half years in Latin America, Kevin is at ease in Spanish-speaking environments and builds trust-based relationships with producers and partners.
Clemence Perrier
Project Manager
Clémence, who holds a degree in technical sales, has several years of experience in the dairy and cheese industry. At France Process, she supports customers throughout their projects, from defining their needs through to the commissioning of their new equipment
Assel Serik
Mauricio Corral Lucero
Purchasing Manager
Assel is our purchasing manager and boasts over 20 years of experience in various industries and companies, particularly in industrial procurement. She is passionate about languages and is comfortable operating in a multicultural and international environment. Her dual expertise in industrial purchasing and international communication enables her to efficiently manage international projects by addressing their technical, economic, and cultural dimensions.
Electrical and Automation Service Engineer
With over 15 years of experience in industrial electrical systems, Mauricio designs the electrical layouts for our projects and writes process system programmable logic control (PLC) software for all our installations. In consultation with our design engineers, Mauricio collaborates with our clients to ensure that the automation and process design of our installations maximises their efficiency and usability, whilst ensuring that hygiene and productions processes are the very best they can be.
Bastien Haramburu and
Thomas Milhoua
AOlis
AOlis have been our chosen partners for production layout, air and product flow assessments, production design and build and overall project management for over 10 years. Bastien and Thomas bring a wealth of experience in the food engineering sector to our projects and, as well as designing specialise in transforming existing cheese production facilities, through work, product and airflow assessments, minimising contamination risks whilst aiming to double production capacity within the same production space – a critical part of the scale-up process for any growing cheese business.