An Alpine-style cheese called Templegall, made near the city of Cork in Ireland, has been named Supreme Champion at Artisan Cheese Awards, having risen to the top among a record number of entries into this year’s competition. Announced on Saturday 18 May at the Cheesemakers Candle-lit Supper at St Mary’s Church in Melton Mowbray, as part of the Artisan Cheese Fair, this achievement comes just weeks after Templegall won the biennial Irish Cheese Awards for the second time in a row.
Britain’s highest place cheese was Hafod Cheddar, made at Holden Farm Dairy in Ceredigion, Wales, which was named Reserve Champion and Best Welsh Cheese. Ogleshield from Montgomery’s in Somerset won Best English Cheese, while Blackmount from Errington Cheese in Lanarkshire was awarded Best Scottish Cheese.
This Alpine-style cheese, which some refer to as an Irish Comte, is made with raw summer milk, matured for at least nine months, and delivers a sweet, delicate and nutty flavour profile.
Among over 500 entered into the 8th edition of the Artisan Cheese Awards, 140 were from Ireland. Seven of the Class trophy winners were awarded to Irish cheeses, showcasing the nation’s cheesemaking excellence on one of the industry’s most respected stages.
Said Dr Matthew O’Callaghan OBE, organiser of the Artisan Cheese Awards: “I was delighted by the record number of entries we had this year including those from Ireland. These awards are designed for the Medium to Micro cheesemaker and it was inspiring to see how many new and micro cheesemakers entered the awards, and some of them doing extremely well. Artisan Cheese is facing a number of significant challenges including Brexit, the cost-of-living crisis, staff shortages and climate change. These awards show that our cheesemakers are certainly up for facing these challenges and still producing world class cheese.”
The Artisan Cheese Awards saw an 80-strong team of judges, made up of major cheese buyers from M&S, Waitrose, Tesco and Fortnum & Mason, as well as the major cheese retailers, wholesalers and distributors, assess this year’s entries which took place on Thursday 9 May at St Mary’s Church, Melton Mowbray, in the heart of Stilton country. Each Class was judged during the morning session, when gold, silver and bronze accolades were awarded. Each Class winner went through to the final judging round to decide this year’s Supreme Champion and Reserve Champion cheeses. For more visit artisancheeseawards.com
