The World Cheese Awards is now open for entry, with producers from across the globe invited to submit their cheese to be judged during the competition's 30th anniversary celebrations. Dedicated only to cheese, with no other dairy products able to enter, the awards will return to London on Friday 17 November, to form part of Taste of London Festive Edition at Tobacco Dock.
Following a record-breaking edition of the World Cheese Awards in San Sebastián last year, organisers, the Guild of Fine Food, are expecting this to be the largest cheese-only competition the UK has ever seen, with around 3,000 cheeses from six continents anticipated in the capital this autumn. As the international curd community gathers, entrants from over 30 different countries will be looking to take advantage of this golden opportunity to spotlight their cheese on a world stage.
250 experts from across the planet, including international buyers, retailers, writers and cheesemakers, will nose, taste and deliberate, judging every entry within a single day to identify any cheeses worthy of a Bronze, Silver or Gold award. Each table will then select its Super Gold cheese to go forward to the final round of judging, before the World Champion Cheese is crowned later in the afternoon, beamed live across the world on WCA TV.
John Farrand, managing director of the Guild of Fine Food, organisers of the World Cheese Awards, explains: “This global celebration of cheese seems to gather momentum every year, so we can't wait to bring the world's finest cheese back to home soil once again and give Taste of London Festive Edition's 30,000 attendees a glimpse behind the rind. Beyond the serious business of identifying the winning wedges, we've got a few surprises up our sleeve to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the World Cheese Awards, so we're hoping that cheesemakers, judges, graders and consumers alike will join us in marking our three decades at the heart of the cheese community.”
