Cheeses of the world
The more time I spend judging cheeses and the like, the less certain I am of my taste. I put on the white coat and get out the cheese iron, and then think, really? Am I the best one to judge this? Part of the problem is you know how much work goes into the cheeses, and how important awards are for them. It can mean a great difference in sales and a cheese maker’s prestige. So yes, I get nervous about it. The numbers are impressive: 2565 cheeses from 33 different countries entered – including the UK and Ireland, New Zealand, Canada, Australia, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Belgium, Sweden, Austria, France, Germany and Spain. There were 250 judges from 26 countries.
I have to say, my first outing at the World Cheese Awards in London was great, and we got very lucky as most of the cheeses sampled were excellent. I was a bit jittery about being the one responsible for writing down comments and putting stickers on the cheeses, but I think I did a decent job. There was a very good feeling around the tables as people started. By the time we’d finished, we had a sense of a job well done. It’s all you can ask for, really.
Roland Barthélemy, president of the Guilde Internationale des Fromagers, collected an award at the lunch afterwards for his Exceptional Contribution to Cheese. He is a global ambssador for the virtues of cheese. It was well-deserved.
As an extra bonus, I had a very surreal conversation with British television presenter Fern Britten, who was hanging up her coat as the same time as me. I thought I knew her from somewhere, but assumed she was a cheese maker or some other cheese industry type. So we talked about the weather and asked after each other’s health. It was only after I’d left the room that I thought, no, I don’t know her, she’s off the telly. I am sure this happens to her a lot.
The winner of the World Champion Cheese title this year was Bath Blue from the Bath Soft Cheese Company. Such very good news for them and very well deserved. I will have to try and get some for the Christmas cheese board. Yum.
