Somebody's got to do it–taste 375 cheeses over a day and a half!
That's precisely what 14 experts are doing this week in order to evaluate and score cheese entered in Canadian Cheese Awards/Le Concours des fromages fins canadiens 2018. The independent competition–with Loblaw Companies and Dairy Farmers of Canada as its lead sponsors–is the biggest cheese competition in Canada with 80 producers from Newfoundland to British Columbia submitting 375 cheeses for judging.
Judging takes place at University of Guelph, Department of Food Science, headed by Dr. Arthur Hill, Chair and Professor in Food Science and an internationally recognized authority in cheese technology, who serves as Chief Judge.
Finalists in 32 categories will be announced March 5. Winners will be revealed during an Awards Ceremony, Reception and Tasting Gala on June 6 in Toronto at historic St. Lawrence Market, Temporary North Hall. The inaugural Canadian Cheese Expo trade show and the first-ever Artisan Cheese Night Market for the public will take place June 7.
It is the only cheese competition in Canada open to all milks used in cheesemaking-cow, goat, sheep and water buffalo-with only pure natural cheese accepted for judging. That means no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives, and no modified milk ingredients.
"We aim to honour and celebrate 100% pure natural cheese that has achieved technical excellence and exhibits the highest aesthetic qualities," says Georgs Kolesnikovs, Awards Chairman.
As a service to the cheese industry and a guide for consumers, Canadian Cheese Awards is organized by The Great Canadian Cheese Festival, the biggest artisan cheese show in Canada in Ontario's Prince Edward County. The Cheese Festival is on hiatus in 2018 while resources are dedicated to the June 6-7 double-header in Toronto.
Canadian Cheese Awards aims to recognize excellence in 18 main categories, nine special awards, five regional awards and the one very best cheese in Canada, the Grand Champion promoted as 2018 Canadian Cheese of the Year.
An extensive knowledge of cheese, on technical basis as well as aesthetic values, was the key factor in selection of the Jury, the judges who will evaluate and score entries following blind tasting of the cheese. Members of the Jury are:
- Debra Amrein-Boyes, Founder and co-owner, now retired, The Farm House Natural Cheeses, Agassiz, British Columbia
- Janice Beaton, Owner, Janice Beaton Cheese Partners, Calgary
- Étienne Biotteau, Cheese technology advisor, Centre d'expertise fromagère du Québec, Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec
- Nathalie Filion, Manager, Yannick Fromagerie, Québec City, the Laurentians and Montréal
- Odysseas Gounalakis, Owner, Scheffler's Delicatessen & Cheese, St. Lawrence Market, Toronto
- Marla Krisko, Formerly co-owner, Cheese Education Guild, Toronto
- Ghislain Paquet, Co-owner, Fromagerie De la Gare, Sherbrooke
- Gurth Pretty, Senior Category Manager, Special Projects, Deli Cheese (Market Division), Loblaw Companies, and cheese educator and author
- Heather Rankin, Co-owner, Obladee Wine Bar, Halifax
- Geoff Rempel, Formerly Specialty Team Leader, Whole Foods Market, Square One, Mississauga
- Vanessa Simmons, Cheese sommelier, Savvy Company, Ottawa
- Egon Skovmose, Co-founder, Danlac Canada, Calgary, Alberta
- Heather Thelwell, Cheese specialist, Guelph, Ontario
- Nick Tsioros, Co-owner, Olympic Cheese Mart, Toronto.
Jackie Armet, Cheese Co-ordinator, The Great Canadian Cheese Festival, and formerly cheesemonger at Whole Foods Market in Yorkville, and Jeanne Rodier, Cheesemonger and Administrator, Yannick Fromagerie, serve as Awards Co-ordinators. Awards Registrar is Heather Robertson, retired cheesemaker and Ticketing Co-ordinator at The Great Canadian Cheese Festival. Roxanne Renwick, cheese specialist and Liaison to artisan cheese producers. Nathalie Rollet Schofield, Liaison to artisan cheese producers in Quebec. Mary Ann Ferrer, Department of Food Science, University of Guelph.
Canadian Cheese Awards is produced by Cheese Lover Productions, Georgs Kolesnikovs, President, with the support of Loblaw Companies as Marquee Sponsor and Dairy Farmers of Canada as Principal Partner, Cow Milk Cheese.
- Cheese Awards website: http://cheeseawards.ca
- Cheese Lover blog: https://cheeselover.ca
- Cheese Festival website: http://cheesefestival.ca
- Social media feeds: https://cheesefestival.ca/social-media-feeds/
For additional information, mailto:awards@cheeselover.ca or telephone 1.866.865.2628.
Source: Cheese Lover Productions
