Cheese Comes Out On Top At Nantwich

The show, formerly known as the Nantwich Cheese Show, has been hosted by the town for 112 years. 2009 saw competition entries from 24 different countries exhibiting at Dorfold Hall Park, with over 2800 products being judged by 90 cheese experts.

The prestigious Supreme Champion title went to Cropwell Bishop Creamery, near Nottingham. With Supreme Champion Overseas, Von Muhlenen coming in a close second.

Reserve Champion gongs went to Lockerbie Creamery in the UK and Wyngaard Kaas overseas. Trophies were awarded at the consumer show on Wednesday 29th July.

Other winners included Nantwich based Joseph Heler, which scooped the Supreme Creamery Cheshire Cheese award. Comments Alison Taylor, marketing manager, “We’ve been going since 1957 and we are thrilled with our win at this year’s show. The cheese was praised for its well balanced and rounded flavour and was labelled a true winner by the judges.”

Nigel White, secretary of the British Cheese Board, commented on the growing enthusiasm surrounding cheese, with the show receiving entries from a whopping 2200 varieties and the industry itself now worth over £2.3billion a year. “People in the UK should challenge their pallet. Half the cheese market is made up of Cheddar sales of some form, but there are more than 700 different types of cheese in this country and another 1,500 imported varieties. People can experiment with cheese and this show is a fantastic opportunity to do that. It’s the biggest cheese show in the world.”

Lifetime achievement awards were also presented to Ron Fisher at South Caernarfon Creamery and Terry Hudson at First Milk.

Chairman Richard Paul was pleased at the success of the trade day and remarked at the ongoing future of the event. “The awards have gone from strength to strength over the past few years. We now welcome competitors from 24 countries and want to emphasise the international nature of cheese making. All the judges are drawn from the dairy industry, so winning a medal at the awards really is the pinnacle of success for any cheese maker.”