This yr’s World Cheese Awards noticed 4,786 cheeses from 47 nations assembled within the Portuguese metropolis of Viseu. 240 consultants gave their verdict, because the UK missed out on account of customs… Brexit means Brexit, and all that.
Queijo de Ovelha Amanteigado.
Heard of it?
It’s a delicate and buttery sheep’s milk cheese from Portugal, made by Quinto do Pomar within the Serra da Gardunha within the centre of the nation. It has been named the most effective on the planet.
The cheese topped the charts at this yr’s World Cheese Awards, which was held in Viseu, northern Portugal, beating two Swiss cheeses (Tea Fondada and Alpenhorn Mifroma – coming in second and third place), in addition to Spanish and American cheeses (La Cava Barus García-Baquero and Bayley Hazen Blue, which rounded off the Prime 5).
Scroll down for this yr’s winners.
The occasion, run by the British-based Guild of Advantageous Meals, noticed a report 4,786 entries from 47 nations around the globe – making this yr’s version probably the most important to this point.
Nonetheless, British cheesemakers missed out after the nation’s entries have been hit by post-Brexit customized checks.
It seems that the cheeses hadn’t handed customs, with as much as 252 cheeses from 67 British makers that will have been affected.
John Farrand, director on the Guild of Advantageous Meals, mentioned the delays “wouldn’t have been a factor” earlier than the UK left the EU.
“The explanations are unclear to me, even on Friday we have been nonetheless combating to get some readability and clear instruction on what wasn’t proper, however we had no success,” Farrand instructed the Observer.
“Earlier than Brexit, this wouldn’t have been a factor. That’s a truth.”
Choose James Grant, co-founder of the Actual Cheese Venture, chimed in by singling out the “Brexit crimson tape”, branding the incident “devastating.”
“The UK’s going via an unbelievable change so far as cheese goes,” Grant instructed the Observer. “There’s an unbelievable quantity of laborious work from these cheesemakers who’re placing handmade artisan cheese again on the map. It’s actually, actually unhappy.”
Britain hasn’t received since 2017, and had no cheeses within the prime 14 this yr.
Listed below are this yr’s winners:
- Queijo de Ovelha Amanteigado, Quinta do Pomar, Portugal
- Tea Fondada, Chascharia Val Müstair, Switzerland
- Alpenhorn Mifroma, Elsa Group (Mifroma), Switzerland
- La Cava Barus García-Baquero, Lacteas Garcia Baquero, Spain
- Bayley Hazen Blue, Cellars at Jasper Hill, USA
- Pecorino Bislacco al Rum e Tabacco, Petrucci, Italy
- Blugins, La Casearia Carpenedo, Italy
- Creamy Lion Cheese, Walo von Mühlenen, Switzerland
- Passionata, Biopark, Brazil
- Godbiten, Snertingdal Ysteri, Norway
- Alte Hexe, Bodensee Käse, Switzerland
- Valleclaro, Quesos y Besos, Spain
- Baldauf 1862 Meisterstück Alpkäse, Baldauf Käse, Germany
- Tatie, Latteria Moro di Moro Sergio, Italy
The 4,786 cheeses have been marked on 4 classes – visuals; physique and texture; aroma; flavour and mouthfeel – and have been evaluated by 240 judges from 40 nations.
Extra sources • Observer
