World Cheese Awards 2012

World Cheese 2013 will be judged on 27 November, with the theatre and deli running until 01 December. More to follow.

RESULTS 2012

Major Winners | Super Gold Winners

Full list of awards (pdf) | Full list of awards online

DOWNLOAD THE CLASSES:

Classes | Classes (España) | Classes (en Français)

WATCH THE WORLD CHEESE AWARDS 2012

THE AWARDS

For over 20 years the World Cheese Awards has been bringing together buyers and sellers from the dairy industry worldwide. It's the largest cheese competition in the world, attracting over 2,700 entries in 2012 from over 30 countries and judged by over 200 expert buyers from every corner of the globe. It takes an entire day to judge, with a trade lunch thrown in, making this a place to do real business too.

Ensure you are on our entry form mailing list, contact Charlie Westcar.

Find out how to sponsor this event

FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR:

RESULTS 2011

Major Winners | Super Gold Winners

Full list of awards (pdf) | Full list of awards online

View a selection of images here

WORLD CHEESE AWARDS 2011 VIDEO:


GREAT CHEESE & PICKLE CHALLENGE:



Ensure you are on our entry form mailing list, contact Charlie Westcar

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Manchego DO Gran Reserva named World Cheese Awards champion 2012

A traditional unpasteurised ewes’ milk cheese from a historic Spanish estate has been named World Champion 2012 after wowing judges at the World Cheese Awards in Birmingham.

The Manchego DO Gran Reserva, from Dehesa de Los Llanos in the province of Albacete, becomes the first champion from mainland Spain in two decades of the international award scheme, which was topped in 2011 by a French Ossau Iraty and in 2010 by Britain’s own Cornish Blue.

Chosen from among over 2,700 British and international cheeses, the Manchego was described by this year’s final judging panel as “a stunning cheese – light, with high notes like a choral song and an aromatic, long finish”. In all, 255 judges from around the world took part in the awards, staged alongside the BBC Good Food Show at the NEC.

Of the 2,781 cheeses judged, 55 cheeses were awarded Super Gold medals – the full list of award winners is available from www.finefoodworld/wca from 5pm today.

“This Manchego is an exquisite example of an artisan cheese made with incredible skill,” commented Bob Farrand, co-organiser of the World Cheese Awards. “It was obvious to the panel of judges that this was a world class cheese and they were glowing in praise for the cheese-maker.”

The World Cheese Awards, run by the UK’s Guild of Fine Food, is the largest and most respected competition of its type in the world. This year it brought together 2,781 cheeses from 30 countries under one roof, making this the Big Cheese of international competitions. Many of the winning cheeses were available for sampling at a World Cheese Deli at BBC Good Food Show in December.
Judges included cheese experts from the USA, Spain, France, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, Germany, Greece, South Africa, Portugal and Russia.

The competition is truly global, with only 25% of entries from the UK. Others came from Ireland, New Zealand, the USA, Spain, Croatia, Netherlands, Italy, Norway, France, Belgium, Austria, Sweden, Cyprus, Slovakia, Canada, Australia, Greece, Germany, South Africa, Switzerland, Portugal, Denmark and Russia.

Over the last decade the World Cheese Awards have been held in Dublin, Gran Canaria and London, and most recently at the BBC Good Food Show at the NEC.