Cheese-lovers can now get their mitts on some award-winning fromage for their festive cheeseboard, as the winners of the Great British Cheese Awards have been announced.
Cornish Jack, produced by River Amble Creamery in Port Isaac, won the best hard cheese category. Described as a full-fat hard cheese with a fruity flavour and nutty tones, judges said they could taste the richness of the milk and that it had a definite “wow” factor for a cheeseboard.
They also said they “couldn’t stop eating the cheese” – always a good sign.
For lovers of something a bit stronger, the Dorset Blue Vinny made by Woodbridge Farm, Sturminster Newton, won the blue cheese category. The recipe for the cheese is, some might say, mature at 300 years old.
Dorset Blue Vinny was so gouda (sorry) that it also won the People’s Choice category. It’s made with fresh milk from a herd of 270 Friesian dairy cows. It takes 24 hours to make and for the first few weeks it is turned by hand every day and is then turned weekly – a real labour of love.
The winning cheeses were crowned at a brie-lliant ceremony celebrating the best of British artisan cheese on 17 October held at Somerset House, London. A full list of award winners can be found here.
Tunworth, made by Hampshire Cheeses in Basingstoke, pipped the competition to the post to win the best soft cheese category. Described as a very British Camembert, it is a soft white-rinded cheese reminiscent of its French cousin.
Made entirely by hand from pasteurised whole cow’s milk, the cheese has an earthy mushroom fragrance and long-lasting sweet and nutty flavour. Judges said it’s “a great example of a wash-rind cheese” with “a full texture, complex yet balanced flavour – delicious”.