British Cheese Awards 2011

The British Cheese Award winners for 2011 have been annouced. One again the award for Best Blue Cheese went to our most local cheese; Barkham Blue, from Two Hoots near Wokingham.

Some of our other cheeses were also "bests", including:
Dorstone from Neal's Yard Creamery which won Best Fresh Cheese (Sponsored by MCE Engineering Ltd)
Devon Blue from Ticklemore Cheese which won Best English Cheese - Patrick Rance Trophy (Sponsored by H - E - B)

Other gold award winners included the Rosary goat's cheese log, Tunworth, Keen's Traditional Mature Cheddar, Lord of the Hundred,
Spenwood, Blacksticks Blue, Isle of Whight BLue, Cornish Yarg.

Well done everyone!

British Cheese Awards 2009

It is that time of year again. The Great British Cheese Festival begins today along with British Cheese Week. And last night the winners of the coveted British Cheese Awards were announced at the National Museum Cardiff.

Our local cheese makers did well again. Although not best at show, Wigmore won silver in the "soft white cheese" category and Spenwood (also made by Anne and Andy Wigmore) won bronze in the "modern British" category.

Best "semi-soft cheese" was this year won by Rachel, from White Lake Cheeses. This is one of our favourite goats' cheeses. With a washed rind and lovely texture, Rachel is one of our regulars. It also won a gold medal in the "rind washed semi-soft cheese" category. Another of our favourite goats' milk cheeses also won gold in the "other cooking cheeses" category; the delicious Rosary Goats Cheese (on the left in the photo). The ash coated version (which we have when we can get it) won gold in the "cheeseboard" category and pepper coated won silver in the "flavour added category". In the same category our other fresh cheese the Gruth Dhu (or Black Crowdie) from Scotland won Bronze.

Saint Giles and Olde Winchester both won bronze in the "modern British category".

I've been studying the winners and will be introducing a few more as guest cheeses over the next few months.

British Cheese Awards 2008

Last week saw the announcement of the winners of the British Cheese Awards 2008. It has been a mixed blessing. The wonderful (and local to us) Barkham Blue, made by Sandy and Andy Rose near Wokingham, won no less than three major awards:
Best Blue Cheese
Best English Cheese
Supreme Champion

No mean feet as it was up against over 900 cheeses from all around the British Isles. We knew it was a wonderful cheese. A sweet, spicy blue, deliciously creamy and moreish. The trouble is that now everyone else knows how great it is and we can't get hold of any!

Another of our local specials, the Wigmore, made by Sandy Rose's cousin Anne, at Village Maid Dairies won best soft white. A good day for Berkshire cheese makers! Not such a good day for Berkshire delicatessens now facing a shortage of their favourites!

A full list of the winners can be found at:
http://www.thecheeseweb.com/contentok.php?id=278

and an article on the BBC web site:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/berkshire/7649621.stm