Meeting the cheese world midway

Judging for the International Cheese and Dairy awards took place on 25 June in the morning and welcomed over 270 judges from all branches of the UK and overseas dairy industry. Meeting up for the briefing, and getting into teams is always a friendly, noisy reunion for many, and a rather daunting atmosphere for new recruits.

Franco Sessa, (on his card his title is The Grand Gourmand) despite his Italian name lives in New Zealand, and Will Sanderson, from export cheese company Somerdale, joined me in surveying our waiting cheeses.

Staging a cheese show is a long process starting with consolidation of products, labelling, cross checking with classes and protecting them. We judges do appreciate all the hard work behind the scenes. There were 349 classes, including some yogurt, butter, milk, ice cream and cheese accompaniments, plus the retail classes. It was an amazing display.

Our first class was a selection of salad cheeses, which did include some retail examples, of varying quality, as well as some authentic Feta, mozzarella, and cottage cheese. Each team was supplied with a well stocked (Waitrose) hessian bag containing supplies – apples to cleanse the palate, water, kitchen roll, and wooden knives. Experienced judges bring their own cheese iron, for the traditional or block cheddars etc, but carrying a rather long knife is more difficult. Health and safety dictates aside, the frustration of trying to open plastic packaging, or vainly slicing into a soft blue did delay and frustrate us.

Best New Zealander

We had the privilege of judging the gold medals from six classes to give the prize to the Best New Zealand cheese. Our fellow judge Franco obviously knew the market, but we were unanimous in our award to a small ash rind square soft cheese. FBNZ New Zealand as the winner, may indicate the giant Fonterra, but this cheese was made by Cathy Lang, and was called Kapiti Ash rind from Eltham Bridge on the North Island. A long way from home and very excited, Cathy received the trophy herself. This reflects the importance of respecting and celebrating cheese making expertise.

As a judging team, the aim is to reward excellence, and 2025 was no exception, and after over three hours of working together, completely absorbed with the cheese, we then went our separate ways to enjoy the stands displaying cheese. Companies such as Belton Farm, Clawson, Butlers, Shepherds Purse, Savencia and Sodiaal all had great displays, and reported a lot of interest from buyers and wholesalers. Bradbury’s market place featured many smaller but high quality cheeses from UK and Europe. The opportunity to taste these was a delight.

Also a delight was to celebrate the Dairy UK Industry award, which went to George Paul, who started importing Dutch cheese in 1994. With his son Richard and a brilliant team, they have seen the growth of Bradbury’s to encompass a wide selection of European and other cheeses. A personal memory is visiting Holland with him, in mid-winter, frozen canals and frosted fields, no cows to be seen, and tasting a 12-month Gouda in a warm, fragrant maturing room. The love of cheese is personal, unforgettable and international.

One newcomer to the show, who actually won a prize for the most attractive small stand, is Book and Bucket Cheese Company. Peter Morgan selects cheeses, from cows and sheep milk in Cranborne, Dorset. His enjoyment of being part of the show, was enhanced by good conversations and possible orders from buyers, he noted. “It was worth coming all this way,” he declared.

There was a good selection of trade stands at this years ICDA Expo, including processing, packaging and also a sensory seminar run by the Academy of Cheese, and a cheese and beer pairing.

Staging the prizegiving of the ICDA with its amazing display of silver trophies, cups and other awards, has been disappointing for the organising committee in recent years. The supreme judging team aimed to announce the Supreme Champion Cheese after lunch on judging day. The Supreme and other trophies were handed out the following morning, with many recipients having to return to work or travel home, so only a small audience to celebrate the wins. This year, the silverware was lit and beautifully displayed, and there was a more vibrant crowd and expectant atmosphere – as no-one knew the identity of the major awards yet.

History and tradition are important to remember in the development of cheese production in the UK. Most of the silverware is historic, and for territorial or local types of cheese. According to Justin Beckett, managing director of Belton Farm, in generations past in the Cheshire area, cups were presented by landowners to encourage dairy farmers in the local cheese making community. The silver challenge cups became bigger and more ornate as the landowners donated and competed with each other. Today these large trophies are no less coveted and mean a great deal to winners and their cheese making teams.

In fact, two comparatively local cheese companies won the Reserve Champion cheese, and the Supreme champion. These were Dewlay, with a crumbly Lancashire, and Belton Farm with its coloured traditional Cheshire. There is a reported resurgence of interest in territorial cheeses, and these examples were highly thought of, and deserved the accolades. Champion retailer this year was Waitrose, winning seven golds. Specialist cheese buyer Sarah Miness also achieved a Fellowship of the Academy of Cheese.

The International Cheese and Dairy Awards featured the Society of Dairy Technology events too, with a symposium and dinner consecutive days, and a good level of participants at both. This made the cheese judging relevant to all, as a demonstration of the expertise and on-going popularity of dairy products. It was great to be part of this and look forward to 2026.