AN aged raw sheep’s milk, Queijo de Ovelha Amanteigado from the Portuguese maker Quinto do Pomar, has been crowned world champion at the 2024 World Cheese Awards.
The washed rind cheese from Serra da Gardunha is a soft, buttery ivory-coloured cheese with a mild flavour. It is made with vegetarian rennet that comes from a thistle flower called cardoon and won the judges’ praise with its gooey buttery-ness and herbal bitterness.
They said: “This cheese really stood out among the many fabulous cheeses here, it is very well balanced and voluptuous. The combination of fat and protein is sublime, perfectly balanced. It’s a fantastic cheese”.
Organised by the Guild of Fine Food, the World Cheese Awards is the world’s largest cheese-only event of its kind – 4,786 cheeses from 47 countries were entered into this 36th annual competition.
A total of 240 judges from 40 countries were split into 104 teams to undertake the mammoth task of determining which entries were worthy of accreditation. The panel was made up of experts with a broad spectrum of disciplines from across the industry, including technologists, graders, buyers, chefs, producers, retailers, industry professionals, journalists and influencers. The cheeses were evaluated on factors such as the appearance of the rind and paste, aroma, body, texture and, most notably, flavour and mouthfeel.
The cheeses are judged blind, with no branding visible – the judges were given a brief description of each cheese, but no indication of origin or their producer.
In the morning, the entrants were whittled down to 104 Super Gold cheeses. These Super Golds were then judged again in the afternoon by the Super Jury of 14 internationally recognised experts to determine the World Champion Cheese.
In the final round of judging, each expert selects one cheese to champion. The Super Jury, representing all four corners of the globe, then debates the final 14 in front of a live audience, before choosing the World Champion Cheese, which was streamed globally and is still available on gff.co.uk/wca.
Sonia Marroyo from Quinto do Pomar, makers of Queijo de Ovelha Amanteigado said: “This is a very emotional win for us, the creation of this cheese came from a lot of team work and dedication”.
John Farrand, managing director of the Guild of Fine Food, the organisation behind the World Cheese Awards, says: “The Portuguese cheesemakers have done their country proud. Our World Champion cheese is typical of the central region of Portugal, extraordinary in the fact that it is made with cardo (thistle rennet) rather than conventional rennet. It is testament to the fact that perhaps cheese is best enjoyed, close to its home, embracing the terroir. There’s a lovely twist in that the cheesemaker, Sonia, is Chilean, living and making cheese in Portugal”.
The top 14 cheeses were Queijo de Ovelha Amanteigado from Quinta do Pomar, Spain – 86 points, Tea Fondada from Chascharia Val Müstair, Switzerland – 84 points, Alpenhorn Mifroma from Elsa Group (Mifroma), Switzerland – 84 points, La Cava Barus García-Baquero, Lacteas Garcia Baquero SA, Spain – 84 points, Bayley Hazen Blue from Cellars at Jasper Hill, USA – 83 points, Pecorino Bislacco al Rum e Tabacco from F.lli Petrucci, Italy – 82 points, Blugins from La Casearia Carpenedo, Italy – 82 points, Affineur Walo Creamy Lion Cheese from Thurgau from Walo von Mühlenen, Switzerland – 82 points, Passionata from Biopark, Brazil – 81 points, Snertingdal ysteri Godbiten from Snertingdal ysteri drift AS, Norway – 79 points, Alte Hexe 9 Monate gereift from Bodensee Käse, Switzerland – 78 points, Valleclaro from Quesos y Besos, Spain – 77 points, Baldauf 1862 Meisterstück Alpkäse from Baldauf Käse, Germany – 75 points, Tatie from Latteria Moro di Moro Sergio, Italy – 72 points.
The World Cheese Awards 2024-25 took place at the Pavilhão Multiusos de Viseu
Viseu, Portugal on Friday 15 November 2024.
The Super Jury panel of experts included Joey Wells from Wholefoods USA, Jason Hinds from Neal’s Yard Dairy in the UK, Mansi Jasani from The Cheese Collective in India, Peter Mårtensson from Möllans Ost joined us from Sweden and Suzy O’Regan from Woolworths Foods (South Africa), as well as Thomas Hirt from Migros in Switzerland.
Pictured: Manuel Maia, who championed the winning cheese, and international cheese expert Roland Barthelemy; from left, Nuno Alves, John Farrand, Sonia Marroyo, Helder Alves and Joaquin Alves © Guild of Fine Food