British Cheese Awards open for entries

At the Royal Bath & Best Show in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, on Wednesday 29th May, a panel of 70 renowned judges will judge 124 classes of cheese in 13 categories, looking at presentation, texture, aroma, flavour and balance. The presentation of the prizes will take place on the same day.

This year sees two new Cheddar awards being presented – for Best Block Cheddar and Best Traditional Cheddar – as well as the popular four Country Awards and nine Main Category Awards.

Visitors to the awards, this year being hosted at Exmoor Hall at the Royal Bath & West Showground for the first time, will be able to both see the award-winning cheeses and purchase them, making it a must-attend for cheese lovers.

Julius Longman, chairman of the British Cheese Awards said, “We are delighted to announce that the British Cheese Awards 2019 are now open for entries. Since the awards were first started we’ve seen a large increase in the number of cheesemakers entering. In 1994 97 cheesemakers entered the awards, in 2018 there were 148 makers. That’s an increase of +53%.

“Over the past 25 years of the awards it’s not only the number of cheesemakers that have changed, the number of cheeses made from milks other than cows’ milk have too. For example in 1994 there were 20 cheeses made from ewe’s milk entered into the Awards, in 2018 there were 59, an increase of 195+%. In fact last year’s Supreme Champion from White Lake Cheese, Sheep Rustler, is made using ewes’ milk.

“The awards are a great celebration of British cheesemakers’ passion and variety. We know that winning an award gives cheesemakers heightened interest with consumers. This means that any cheesemonger or fine food deli stocking an award-winning cheese with a British Cheese Awards sticker on it can showcase this to customers, talk to customers about the cheese and where it comes from. With consumers’ continued interest in food and its provenance, this is very important.

“We are looking forward to seeing what these cheesemakers, renowned for their excellence and commitment to quality, will put into competition for this year.”