Who can resist the creamy, stinky, tangy goodness of cheese? Well, vegans, obviously. Also the lactose intolerant, most of the time. For the rest of us though, the salty explosion when mature cheddar or a pungent slice of blue hits our tastebuds is heaven-sent. And the UK has some pretty tasty cheeses, if we say so ourselves. But you don’t need to take our word for it.
The World Cheese Awards, run by the Guild of Fine Food, is a major event in the global foodie calendar, bringing together the most knowledgeable cheese experts to judge 4,000 cheeses from over 40 countries. This year’s ceremony took place in Trondheim, Norway in a huge room full of mouldy, sweaty fromage. We imagine the scent was funky, to say the least.
Entries are awarded bronze, silver, gold or super gold and those that claim the top medal are then narrowed down with the help of over 200 judges to determine the 16 absolute best. Excitingly, five British cheeses secured super gold status, two of which made it onto the final ranking.
In twelfth place was Sinodun Hill from Norton and Yarrow Cheese, Oxfordshire, which was described as ‘a pyramid cheese with a unique, mousse-like texture and a bright citrus flavour with red fruit and almond notes’. Just scraping in at number 16 was Wigmore from Village Maid Cheese in Berkshire, a semi-soft ewe’s milk cheese with ‘complex and fruity richness with a delicate texture’. Yum!
The other British cheeses awarded super gold were Cornish Kern from Lynher Dairies Cheese Company, Devon Blue from Ticklemore Cheese and Allerdale from Thornby Moor Dairy.
Here’s the full list of the 16 best cheeses in the world right now.
- Nidelven Blå from Gangstad Gårdsysteri, Norway
- Baliehof Houtlandse Asche Kaas from Baliehof Kaas En Zuivelboerderij Jabbeke, Belgium
- Eberle Würzig Seit 5 Generationen from Dorfkäserei Muolen, Switzerland
- Eleftheria Brunost from Vivanda Gourmet, India
- Müller-Thurgau Rezent from Käserei Müller-Thurgau, Switzerland
- Kärntnermilch Mölltaler Almkäse Selektion 50% FiT. from Kärntnermilch, Austria
- Michel from Rohmilchkäserei Backensholz, Germany
- Holland Delta, 1 Year Old from Van der Heiden Kaas, Netherland
- Old Amsterdam Goat from Westland Kaasexport, Netherlands
- Parmigiano Reggiano 30-39 Months from Nazionale Parmigiano Reggiano Rastelli Fratelli, Italy
- Deichkäse Gold from Rohmilchkäserei Backensholz, Germany
- Sinodun Hill from Norton and Yarrow Cheese, United Kingdom
- Goustal La Bergere from Société des Caves, France
- Pirano from La Bufalara, Italy
- Lamucca Di Castagno from Romagna Terre, Italy
- Wigmore from Village Maid Cheese, United Kingdom
You can check out the full World Cheese Awards 2023 ranking here.
All things awards
We’ve got a bunch of foodies here in the Time Out office. And there’s so much edible innovation happening in the UK to get excited about. Besides our own guides to the best restaurants in cities like Manchester, London, Glasgow and Leeds we pay attention to all the big awards ceremonies celebrating newcomers and best of the best. Most recently we’ve covered the new additions to the Michelin guide, the AA Hospitality Awards and the best British takeaways according to UberEats.
IYCMI: 16 UK restaurants have just been added to the Michelin guide.
Plus: Glasgow has just been named one of the best cities in the world.
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