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U.S. cheesemakers win big at World Cheese Awards |
11.06.2009
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LAS PALMAS, Gran Canaria-U.S. cheesemakers collected an "unprecedented" number of awards at this year's World Cheese Awards, held here Oct. 1-3.
Thirty-six companies collected 83 medals in 43 cheese categories. Of those 83 medals, 21 were gold, 27 silver and 35 bronze. More than 2,440 cheeses from 34 countries were entered across 62 classes.
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The World Champion Cheese-the top spot overall-was awarded to Canadian company La Maison Alexis de Portneuf of St-Raymond-de-Portneuf, Quebec, for its goat cheese, Le Cendrillon.
"The 2008 World Cheese Awards, where judges recognized a record 56 U.S. cheeses, was extraordinary," said Angelique Hollister, marketing director, cheese and manufactured products, for the U.S. Dairy Export Council, in a prepared statement. "But U.S. cheesemakers this year topped it by far. The performance reaffirms that the United States has come of age on the global stage. We have the capabilities to compete with any country in the world in cheese quality and variety."
United States cheese artisans earned awards in 43 categories this year - compared to a previous high of 28.
U.S. companies scored well in known specialties like cheddar and mozzarella, but they also took home medals for cheeses such as camembert, provolone and gouda - varieties that have rarely been represented on the winner's list in the past.
"Gouda in particular is one of the world's most popular cheeses, and one that has leapt from culture to culture and country to country fairly easily in recent years, penetrating and gaining a foothold in markets where cheese, at one time, was a foreign concept," Hollister said. "Yet the United States is not known as a gouda producer - some overseas buyer might not even consider a U.S. source when looking to purchase it."
Thorp, Wis.-based Holland's Family Cheese took home five medals for their gouda at the competition, while Traver, Calif.-based Bravo Farms Handmade Cheese picked up one.
"That's one specific instance where an event like the World Cheese Awards can open people's eyes," Hollister said.
Of all the U.S. companies at the show, Sartori Foods Corp., Plymouth, Wis., picked up the most medals -11 -including three golds for its romano, gorgonzola and Sarotori Reserve Black Pepper Bella Vitano.
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