Mount Leinster Clothbound from Coolattin Cheddar Ltd was awarded Best Irish Cheese at the World Cheese Awards. The highly coveted prize was awarded to a raw cows' milk farmhouse cheddar. Made with animal rennet and matured for 14 months, this cheese wowed the judges at the Pavilhão Multiusos de Viseu, in Portugal during an intense day of judging on Friday 15 November.
Other notable wins for Ireland included 2 Golds, 6 Silvers, and 6 Bronzes.
Organised by the Guild of Fine Food, the World Cheese Awards is the world’s largest cheese-only event of its kind, 4,786 cheeses from 47 countries were entered into this, the 36th iteration of the competition.
A total of 240 judges from 39 countries were split into 104 teams to undertake the mammoth task of determining which entries were worthy of accreditation. The panel was made up of experts with a broad spectrum of disciplines from across the industry, including technologists, graders, buyers, chefs, producers, retailers, industry professionals, journalists, and influencers.
The cheeses were meticulously evaluated on factors such as the appearance of the rind and paste, aroma, body, texture, and most notably, flavour and mouthfeel.
To ensure a completely fair competition, the assessment is judged blind, the judges were given a brief description of each entrant, but no indication of origin or their producer.
All the cheeses were entered through one of twenty consolidated shipping points located around the world to ensure that every competitor was delivered in the best possible condition for judging. The Guild of Fine Food worked with the Portuguese authorities to apply for special licences, allowing the smallest artisan cheesemakers from across the globe to compete with bigger and better-known producers.
John Farrand, managing director of the Guild of Fine Food, the organisation behind the World Cheese Awards comments: “World Cheese has established itself as a unique event. Not only because it brings together a panel of experts who carefully assess and award each cheese on its own merits, but in the way in which it imparts the culture of a city and region to its audience. We have loved bringing our judges as well as hundreds of dairy industry professionals to Viseu, right at the heart of cheesemaking in Portugal, so they too, can absorb the wider culture, terroir, and generous hospitality. It provides a one-off forum to share views, opinions and to establish personal and working relationships across borders. Something we are proud to promote.”
This year’s competition was the biggest yet with 1,032 companies from across the globe entering. The judging took place over just one day, with Bronze, Silver, Gold and Super Gold awards being allocated in the morning and the Super Golds being reassessed by a Super Jury of experts in the afternoon to find the 14 top cheeses, from which the absolute winner, was selected. Queijo de Ovelha Amanteigado, a soft, raw ewes' milk cheese. Made with cardoon thistle rennet and matured for 6 weeks to 3 months by Portuguese producer Quinta do Pomar.
The World Cheese Awards 2024 trophy for Best Irish Cheese is sponsored by Horgans Delicatessen Supplies.
