It was the closest ever finish in the 20-year history of the World Cheese Awards in Dublin on 29 September. Four cheeses tied for the World Champion crown after the 12 members of the supreme jury had finished tasting.
The previous day, 90 experts had flown to Dublin from around the world to join a further 50 Irish judges to taste and rate an incredible 2,400 cheeses from almost every cheese-making nation apart from those of South America. By lunchtime, 174 cheeses had been awarded gold medals and they were all judged a second time early in the afternoon before each of the 12 members of the supreme jury selected one cheese each for the final stage. The television cameras rolled as the top 12 cheeses were tasted and discussed before each judge voted directly to camera.
Tension mounted as first a soft cows’-milk cheese from Canada called Cendré de Lune achieved 47 points out of 60, followed by identical scores for a Von Muhlenen Le Gruyere AOC, a Fourme d’Ambert, produced by Morin Père et Fils and a goats’ milk for Queso Arico curado pimentón. A stilton cheese from Colston Bassett represented the UK through to the final stages, but just failed to make it into the final four.
The winner turned out to be a bit of a surprise, not least for the tiny cooperative that makes it: Queso Arico’s curado pimento is a goats’-milk cheese dusted in paprika, made in the Canary Islands and virtually unknown outside Spain. The ‘best cheddar’ title was scooped by a vintage farmhouse cheddar from the Cheddar Gorge Cheese Company.