A goat’s cheese from County Kilkenny was named the Supreme Champion of the 18th British Cheese Awards last Friday at a ceremony that signalled the start of British Cheese Week.
Kilree Goat’s Cheese - made by Knockdrinna Farmhouse Cheese in Stoneyford , Co. Kilkenny – also won the Best Irish and Best Semi-Soft Cheese categories in the awards.
The recently-created cheese is made from milk sourced from a certified local herd of pasture-grazed goats and is characterised by a fine, orange, slightly sticky and leathery rind concealing a smooth, pale ivory interior that breaks into large flakes. Its complex flavours includes hints of almonds and marzipan that give way to hints of sea mist, lush green grass, wild garlic and chives.
The awards attracted more than 900 entries from more than 200 British and Irish cheese makers. The contenders included nearly 700 vegetarian cheeses, 170 raw milk cheeses, 110 organic varieties, 60 blues and more than 40 goat and ewe’s milk lines.
Details of all 22 category winners can be viewed on the British Cheese Awards website.
● British Cheese Week runs from 23 September to 2 October.
THE WINNERS
BEST ENGLISH
Devon Blue
Ticklemore Cheese, Totnes, Devon
BEST SCOTTISH CHEESE
Criffel
Loch Arthur Creamery, Beeswing, Dumfries
BEST WELSH
Teifi Farmhouse
Teifi Farmhouse Cheese. Teifi Valley, Carmarthenshire
BEST IRISH
Kilree Goat Cheese
Knockdrinna Farmhouse Cheese, Stoneyford, Co. Kilkenny
BEST NEW CHEESE RETAILER
Nicola & James Grant
No 2 Pound Street, Wendover, Buckinghamshire
CHEESE PERSON OF THE YEAR
Stuart Dowle
Quickes Traditional, Newton St Cyres, Devon
BEST BRITISH CHEESEBOARD
Scott & Lisa Hessell
The Old Bore, Rishworth, West Yorkshire
BEST GOAT CHEESE
Killeen
Killeen Farmhouse Chees, Ballinasloe, Co. Galway
BEST ORGANIC CHEESE
Loch Arthur Farmhouse
Loch Arthur Creamery, Beeswing, Dumfries
BEST PDO/PGI CHEESE
Denhay Mature Farmhouse Cheddar
Denhay Farms, Bridport, Dorset
BEST FRESH CHEESE
Dorstone Goat’s Cheese
Neal’s Yard Creamery, Dorstone, Herefordshire
BEST SOFT WHITE CHEESE
St Eadburgha Brie
Gorsehill Abbey Farm, Broadway, Worcestershire
BEST SEMI-SOFT CHEESE
Kilree Goat’s Cheese
Knockdrinna Farmhouse Cheese, Stoneyford, Co. Kilkenny
BEST CHEDDAR
Traditional Mild Cheddar
Quickes Traditional Ltd, Newton St Cyres, Devon
BEST TERRITORIAL (NON-CHEDDAR)
Crumbly Lancashire
Belton Cheese Ltd, Whitchurch, Shropshire
BEST TRADITIONAL
Single Gloucester PDO
Smart’s Traditional Gloucester Cheese, Churcham, Gloucestershire
BEST MODERN BRITISH
Lord of the Hundred Ewe’s Cheese
Traditional Cheese Dairy Co, Stonegate, East Sussex
BEST BLUE CHEESE
Barkham Blue
Two Hoots Cheese, Barkh, Berkshire
BEST FLAVOUR ADDED CHEESE
Smoked Red Leicester
Belton Cheese Ltd, Whitchurch, Shropshire
BEST NEW CHEESE
Federia
Larkton Hall Cheese, Malpas, Cheshire
BEST CREAMERY CHEESE
Lake District Mature Cheddar
Lake District Cheese Co, Wigton, Cumbria
BEST EXPORT CHEESE
Goat’s Cheddar
Quickes Traditional Ltd, Newton St Cyres, Devon