A farmer-owned creamery in North Wales is celebrating after its tasty Double Gloucester cheese scooped a gold award and went on to be crowned the best cheese in Wales.
South Caernarfon Creamery’s double triumph came at the prestigious 2021 Virtual Cheese Awards where they competed against the best cheesemakers from across the UK.
The glittering awards ceremony was hosted by TV and radio food broadcaster and all-round local artisan food champion Nigel Barden.
The 13-strong judging panel included MasterChef winner Druv Baker; founder of the Academy of Cheese, Tracey Colley; and Marks and Spencer cheese buyer Chris Dawson.
According to the senior commercial manager, Nick Beadman, the twin honours were a major endorsement of the mastery of cheese production at co-operative based in Chwilog in Gwynedd.
He said: “Our Double Gloucester has sublime buttery, mellow notes which particularly appealed to the expert judges.
It is quite a young cheese which only needs about two to three months to mature unlike a rich cheddar which can take up to 12 months.
“We are particularly pleased with this Double Gloucester and our faith in it has now been rewarded by such an esteemed panel of independent judges making it a double winner.”
‘We are all delighted’
Beadman added:
“We are all delighted. This is a real testament to the amount of hard work we put into producing the best quality cheeses we can. It is a dazzling start to the cheese awards season.
For us to win two top prizes from one of the most important judging panels in the industry is a coup for everyone who works here and for all our farmer members.
The creamery also makes other acclaimed territorial cheeses including Red Leicester and Welsh Caerphilly, along with its popular Dragon brand of table cheeses which are a big hit with customers all over the Wales and parts of the UK.
Beadman and the team are hopeful they will also do well at the usual high profile annual cheese competitions which are due to reopen this summer and autumn, providing Covid-19 restrictions are lifted.
In the past South Caernarfon Creameries has achieved success at a number of UK and international cheese competitions including Nantwich International Cheese Awards, the British Cheese Awards, World Cheese Awards, and Global Cheese Awards.
He said:
One of the key ingredients in our regular successes is the fact that we consistently maintain the excellence of our products, putting ourselves at the forefront of cheese production in Britain.
“This is award is recognition from a panel of distinguished experts that we are getting it right and we are looking forward to further sales growth for our Double Gloucester, alongside our other award-winning cheeses in future.”
