British Cheese Awards Winners Revealed

Made by Berkshire creamery, Two Hoots, which is run by Andy and Sandy Rose, Barkham Blue is described as a sweet, spicy blue with a peppery aromatic taste. It had to beat off competition from another 909 cheeses to win the top prize as this year saw another record number of entries.

In total, 317 specialities were awarded medals. Major winners included Lavistown by Knockrinna for Best Irish Cheese; Pont Gar Garlic & Herbs by Carmarthenshire Cheese for Best Welsh Cheese; and Connage Crowdie by Connage Highland Dairy for Best Scottish Cheese. Somerset cheesemaker, Chris Duckett, received the title of Cheese Person of the Year.

“It has been another record breaking year with our highest number of entries,” says Juliet Harbutt, founder and organiser of the awards. “With record numbers of cheeses reaching medal winning status it’s safe to say that the British cheese industry is consistently creating world beating products.”

The awards were not only about producers with retailers kept on their toes waiting to hear who’d won the Best New Deli Award, sponsored by Speciality Food magazine. This year, Yellowwedge Cheese in Twickenham came out on top.

“We are absolutely delighted to have won this prestigious award and want to thank our customers in the local community for their overwhelming support,” says David Harries, the shop’s owner. “I have fond memories of growing up on a variety of cheeses from an early age, always interested in trying something new and different. It was the age of Monty Python and I can still recite all the names of the products mentioned in the cheese shop sketch (even believing there was such a thing as Venezuelan Beaver Cheese!). In an increasingly food-conscious world, my philosophy has always been to put the fun and passion back into selling high-quality cheeses to our discerning local community and beyond”.

Other winners were as follows:

Cheese Lovers’ Trophy: Isis, Oxford Cheese Co
Best British Cheeseboard: Allium restaurant in Fairford
Best PDO/PGI Cheese – David Reed Trophy: Traditional Mature Cheddar, Keens

Best Fresh Cheese: Full Fat Soft Cheese, Dan Dairies
Best Soft White Cheese: Wigmore, Village Maid Cheese
Best Semi-Soft Cheese: Stinking Bishop, Charles Martell
Best Cheddar Cheese: Extra Mature Cheddar, JA & E Montgomery
Best Territorial (non-Cheddar): Red Leicester (aged), Long Clawson Dairy
Best Modern British Cheese: Cornish Crumbly, Whalesbourgh
Best Flavour Added Cheese: Ashdown Foresters Smoked, High Weald Dairy
Best Creamery Cheese: Extra Mature Cheddar, Lake District Cheese co
Best New Cheese: Kid Me Not, Talley Mountain