South West Cheesemakers bring home a generous slice of the British Cheese Awards
Members of the West Country Farmhouse Cheesemakers group were celebrating last night after picking up a feast of medals at The British Cheese Awards, the annual celebration of the very best that British cheesemaking have to offer.
With a record-breaking 910 cheeses entered, the winners were decided by a panel of top industry experts including cheese buyers, journalists, chefs and food critics. Clearly, the unrivalled flavour of the region’s greatest export didn’t go unnoticed:
Montgomery's Cheddar from North Cadbury near Yeovil, Somerset, picked up four awards including Best Cheddar and Best Export Cheese. Other West Country winners included Ashley Chase Estate of Litton Cheney near Dorchester, Dorset with a silver and two bronze medals; Denhay Farms of Broadoak near Bridport, Dorset with a gold and a silver medal; Batch Farm of East Pennard, near Shepton Mallet, Somerset with a bronze medal; Greens of Glastonbury with three bronzes; W H Longman & Sons of North Cadbury near Yeovil, Somerset, with a silver; and Tower Farms of Lydeard St Lawrence near Taunton, Somerset with a silver award for their reduced fat Cheddar. Congratulations also go to Keen's Cheddar, Wincanton, Somerset who picked up the gold medal for Best PDO/PGI Cheddar.
Philip Crawford, chairman of West Country Farmhouse Cheesemakers said: “It’s a wonderful result for the group. We are all dedicated to upholding the fine tradition of authentic handmade Cheddar-making on our farms and this produces a diverse range of individual and flavoursome cheeses that can’t be bettered.”
The group of 13 cheesemakers from the South West are responsible for the worldwide internet phenomena www.cheddarvision.tv and for the discovery of the formula for the perfect cheese sandwich featured on www.cheddarometer.com
To buy our award-winning cheeses online click here...
Royal ploughmans for the Countess
After last years washout , the sun shone brightly on The Countess of Wessex as she attended the PDO lunch and presented Parkham farms with cups for both the reserve champion cheese and best PDO West Country Farmhouse cheddar. The show was a triumph for our other farmhouse cheesemakers too with a total of 40 medals and 7 special awards, just rewards for all the care and craftsmanship that goes into all our handmade cheeses.
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