Winners of the CÁIS 2024 Irish Cheese Awards announced
Image: CÁIS, the Association of Irish Farmhouse Cheesemakers,
The winners of the 2024 Irish Cheese Awards were announced at a prestigious ceremony hosted by CÁIS, the Association of Irish Farmhouse Cheesemakers, at Kilshane House in Co. Tipperary on Wednesday 24 April.
2024 Irish Cheese Award Winners:
- Supreme Champion: Hegarty’s Cheese, Whitechurch, Co. Cork – ‘Templegall Extra Mature’
Category Winners (Gold Awards):
- New Cheese (All Styles & Milk Types): Velvet Cloud/Rockfield Dairy, Claremorris, Co. Mayo – ‘Cloonbook’
- Raw Milk Cheese (All Styles and Milk Types): Hegarty’s Cheese, Whitechurch, Co. Cork – ‘Templegall Extra Mature’
- Fresh/Soft Cheese (Buffalo, Cow, Sheep, Mixed Milk): Leitrim Hill Creamery, Carrick-On-Shannon – ‘Sliabh An Iarainn’
- Fresh/Soft Cheese (Goat Milk): Hollywood Farmhouse Cheeses, Hollywood, Co. Wicklow – ‘Pocán’
- Soft Cheese (Flavour Added): Dingle Farm, Dingle, Co. Kerry – ‘Bricín (Garlic & Herbs)’
- Soft/Semi-Soft Bloomy Rind Cheese (All Milk Types): St. Tola Cheese, Inagh, Co. Clare – ‘Original Log’
- Washed Rind Cheese (Semi Soft, All Milk Types): Durrus Cheese, Durus. Co. Cork – ‘Durrus Cheese’
- Blue Cheese (All Milk Types): Mike’s Fancy Cheese, Newtownards, Northern Ireland – ‘Young Buck’
- Smoked Cheese (All Milk Types): Toons Bridge Dairy, Toons Bridge, Co. Cork – ‘Smoked Scamorza’
- Hard Cheese (Flavour Added): Killeen Farmhouse Cheese, Ballyshrule, Portumna, Co. Galway – ‘Killeen Goats Cheese with Fenugreek’
- Hard/Semi-Hard Cheese Under 6 Months (All Milk Types): Boyne Valley Farmhouse Cheese, Rathkenny, Co. Meath – ‘Boyne Valley Bán’
- Mature Hard Cheese Aged Over 6 Months (All Milk Types): Coolea Farmhouse Cheese, Coolea, Co. Cork – ‘Coolea Matured’
- Mature Farmhouse Cheddar aged Over 12 Months (All Milk Types): Coolattin Cheddar, Knockeen, Tullow Co. Carlow – ‘Mount Leinster Clothbound’
- Retail & Creamery Cheddar: SuperValu Signature Tastes, Vintage Red Cheddar
- Retailer Class – Soft/Semi-Soft: Aldi Specially Selected, Cashel Blue
- Retailer Class – Semi-Hard/Hard: Dunnes Stores Simply Better, Irish Farmhouse Killeen Goats Cheese
- Retailer Class – Exclusive Cheeses: Sheridans Cheesemongers, Drunken Saint
Lifetime Achievement Award: Dick & Helene Willems of Coolea Farmhouse Cheese presented by John and Sally McKenna, in recognition of their passion and long-term commitment to their craft.
