This year’s World Cheese Awards 2024, the largest since its inception in 1988, took place last weekend in the Portuguese city of Viseu where 4,786 cheeses from 47 countries assembled to face the discerning scrutiny of 240 experts assembled from across the world.
The overall winning cheese, produced by the tiny 10-employee Quinta do Pomar in Soalheira, Portugal, scored highest out of 14 finalists that included no fewer than five Swiss cheeses, plus entries from Brazil, the United States, Norway, Italy, Germany and Spain.
Made with vegetarian rennet created from thistles, the winner is described as a gooey, glossy, buttery cheese with a herby bitterness that’s typically served by slicing off the top and spooning out the centre.
The competition was fierce, the air fragranced by punchy notes of gruyere, manchego and parmigiano - as gathering thousands of cheeses at room temperature under one roof inevitably produces an intense aroma.
For Spanish cheese producers, 2024 was an even harder year to consolidate the much desired gold, silver or bronze medal. “We are happy to see that this year we’ve received the highest number of cheese entries to date. With that said, it's the Spanish cheese producers where we have seen a noticeable jump in entries, up by 6% from last year to a staggering 1407,” said Christabel Cairns from the Guild of Fine Food.
48 prizes won by cheese makers in the Canary Islands
The Canary Islands humbly boasted 48 medals in this year's survival of the fittest contest, an increase of 79% versus the results last year. Gran Canaria won the most awards with 17 medals including two Super Golds, by Quesos Amurga and Quesos La Caldera.
Tenerife was in close 2nd position with 15 medals won, led by Quesería La Guancha with 7 medals and Quesería Montesdeoca with 5 medals. Lanzarote won 11 medals and Fuerteventura won 5.
This only highlights the importance of agriculture and local gastronomy across the Canary Islands, a region which also consumes the most cheese per capita in Europe.
The Tenerife award-winning cheeses:
1. Queseria La Guancha, 7 prizes won: Gold for Semi-Hard Goat Cheese with Oregano;Silver for Mature-Aged Goat Cheese/Viejo Goat Cheese/ Curado Goat Cheese/ Semi-Hard Goat Cheese with Paprika; Bronze for Viejo Goat with Paprika and Curado Smoked Goat Cheese.
2. Queseria Montesdeoca, 5 prizes won: Silver for Curado Cow & Goat Cheese with Gofio, Curado Goat Cheese with Gofio, Semi-hard goat cheese with Cinnamon; Bronze for Curado Goat and Sheep Cheese with Gofio plus its Almogrote with Cilantro and Garlic.
3. Quesos Aborigen from Arafo, 1 prize won: Silver for Semi-hard goat cheese.
“We are very proud of our wins this year as the competition was bigger than ever. It’s a relief to see that our mature aged cheese remains a favourite amongst the judges and the locals of Tenerife, with a new entry, the cow and goat sheep mature aged cheese earning a Silver Medal,” says Alberto Montesdeoca from Queseria Montesdeoca, a third-generation goat farm and queseria based in the south of Tenerife.
“Winning these awards means a lot to us as it inspires us to do better and reassures us to keep on making quality cheese in maybe a few more formats… the Portuguese cheese makers left a mark on us, that is for sure,” he adds.
New World trends from Brazil kept the world judges excited this year and wanting more innovation from the cheese sector. “Spanish cheese has always been high quality, but now what makes it more exciting are the new modern approaches which mix texture and visuals more, like that of the previous winners from Quesos y Besos,” said the Japanese judge, Aki Sahagaru.
Next year the World Cheese Awards will be held in Bern, Switzerland - the hype begins to see who will win the Super Gold in 2025.
