October 1-3 2009, Gran Canaria

2009 Winners | 2009 Major Winners

Watch the World Cheese 2009 video 

Canadian goat’s milk cheese is crowned World Champion in Las Palmas at the world’s largest cheese competition. Canadian goat’s milk cheese, Le Cendrillon, saw off nearly 2,500 other competitors to take the title of World Champion Cheese 2009– the second year in a row that a goats’ milk cheese has taken the top spot.

The annual competition, run by the UK’s Guild of Fine Food, was staged this year in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria on October 1. It was only the second time the awards have been held outside Britain in their 21-year history and it attracted cheeses from 34 different countries.

Over 150 judges from 24 countries, including Mexico, South Africa, Japan and Australia, sampled the 2,440 entries in a marathon tasting session before choosing the winner. Around 140 cheeses from around the world were given gold awards, each of which was tasted for a second time by an international jury of 13 experts from 10 countries.

Guild of Fine Food national director Bob Farrand said: “This was the most international team of judges ever assembled, with representatives from four continents involved in choosing the World Champion. It’s the largest and most cosmopolitan cheese awards on the planet.” Le Cendrillon is made by La Maison Alexis de Portneuf in Québec, Canada. The ash-covered cheese has a marble-textured rind, a smooth, ivory-coloured body and a fairly strong, acidic taste that becomes more pronounced as the cheese matures.

British cheeses performed well with two, Saint Giles from High Weald Dairy and a Blue Stilton from Long Clawson both making it into the final 13 gold award-winning cheeses tasted by the Supreme jury. A gala awards dinner took place after the judging at the Hotel Santa Catalina in Las Palmas where the judges were joined by a further 150 guests including the Canary Islands’ President and senior government ministers. The awards featured on all local and mainland Spanish TV networks and attracted over 15000 consumers to the two-day festival, all eager to taste the winning cheeses.

This year’s awards formed part of a wider global event organised by the Guild of Fine Food, including an international cheese conference and the World Cheese Festival.
The World Cheese Awards have been bringing together key cheese buyers for over two decades. Staging the Awards outside the UK for only the second time – and in a country where per capita cheese consumption is one of the highest in the world – is an inspired decision guaranteed to engage and attract major global interest.

2008 Winners | 2008 Major Winners

Browse the World Cheese Awards 2009 gallery

For sponsorship and exhibition opportunities in 2010 contact John Farrand on 00 44 (0)1963 824464
Entry forms available February 2010 at www.finefoodworld.co.uk