The South West’s finest cheesemakers enjoy global success
Members of the West Country Farmhouse Cheesemakers group scooped an amazing 21 awards between them at this week’s World Cheese Awards, proving that the region’s greatest export, authentic handmade Cheddar, is still a firm favourite.
This year The World Cheese Awards saw the closest ever finish of its 20-year history. Tensions ran high in Dublin as over 90 experts from around the world were present to join a further 50 Irish judges, tasting an incredible 2,400 entries from almost every cheese-making nation. Despite this veritable cornucopia of cheeses, West Country Farmhouse Cheesemakers scooped 10 Gold, six Silver and five Bronze awards.
Highlights included:
Montgomery's Cheddar, North Cadbury near Yeovil, Somerset - three golds
Tower Farms, Lydeard St Lawrence near Taunton, Somerset - two golds
Denhay Farms, Broadoak near Bridport, Dorset - two silvers, three bronze
Brue Valley Farms, Baltonsborough near Glastonbury, Somerset - one gold, two bronze
Keen's Cheddar, Wincanton, Somerset - one gold
Parkham Farms, Woolsery near Bideford, North Devon - one gold
Philip Crawford, chairman of West Country Farmhouse Cheesemakers said: “We are delighted. It’s a tremendous achievement and testament to the hard work and commitment of all the cheesemakers in our group. It also goes to show that there’s no substitute for the real thing – authentic Cheddar handmade on West Country farms with West Country milk.”
The dedicated group of 13 cheesemakers from the South West are responsible for the worldwide internet phenomena www.cheddarvision.tv and for the discovery of the formula for the perfect cheese sandwich featured on www.cheddarometer.com
And remember, you can buy these award-winning cheeses by clicking here…
Royal ploughmans for the Countess
After last years washout , the sun shone brightly on The Countess of Wessex as she attended the PDO lunch and presented Parkham farms with cups for both the reserve champion cheese and best PDO West Country Farmhouse cheddar. The show was a triumph for our other farmhouse cheesemakers too with a total of 40 medals and 7 special awards, just rewards for all the care and craftsmanship that goes into all our handmade cheeses.
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