Lucerne – More than 2,700 cheeses from all corners of the world were put to the test at this year’s World Cheese Awards in Birmingham, UK. Emmi presented 15 selected Swiss cheeses to the judging panel, of which five won a trophy, including two coveted Super Golds: the cave-aged KALTBACH Le Gruyère AOP from the Courgenay cheese dairy (canton of Jura) and Le Gruyère AOP Le Brouillet from the Bémont cheese dairy (canton of Neuchâtel). Cheeses from Emmi’s US subsidiaries Emmi Roth USA and Cypress Grove Chevre were also honoured.
Emmi is the largest cheese trader in Switzerland. The range includes cheese that the company produces itself at various production facilities as well as cheese that it purchases (annually over 30,000 tonnes). This cheese normally comes from commercial cheese dairies and is then matured, refined and packaged by Emmi. Cheese varieties such as Le Gruyère AOP or Emmentaler AOP, for instance, are produced in the region from which they originate, where they are matured for a number of months. They are then matured by Emmi for several more months, after which they are portioned and packaged by Emmi’s packaging specialists in Kirchberg according to customer wishes.
Their cheese is then marketed by Emmi across the world, including to the cheese-loving UK. Participating in global competitions – for example, in the annual World Cheese Awards in Birmingham – is one of the measures being taken to raise the profile of local trade and consumption of Swiss cheese.
Awards for Emmi cheeses from Switzerland and the US
The 2015 edition of the cheese industry’s largest international competition saw Emmi’s Swiss cheese specialities win five awards. The cross-category Super Gold awards for KALTBACH Le Gruyère AOP from Emmi’s Courgenay cheese dairy (canton of Jura) and Le Gruyère AOP Le Brouillet from the Bémont cheese dairy (canton of Neuchâtel) were particularly pleasing. A Gold award went to Wattenwil (canton of Berne) cheese dairy Grundbach’s Winzer Käse, which is intensely treated with red wine throughout its four to six-month maturation time.
KALTBACH Extra Tasty won a Silver award, the second trophy to go to a cave-aged Emmi cheese. Always a strong contender, this year’s winning Emmentaler AOP came from the Peter Röthlisberger cheese dairy in Wattenwil (canton of Berne).
Cheeses from across the pond also found their way to Birmingham, including cheeses from the two Emmi subsidiaries Emmi Roth USA and Cypress Grove Chevre. They were given three awards (one Gold and two Bronze awards), of which two went to Emmi Roth USA cow’s milk cheeses and one to a goat’s milk cream cheese with a difference: a fine layer of ash.
The World Cheese Awards have been held annually since 1988 and have been the largest international competition of this type since 2005.
|
Emmi cheeses honoured at the World Cheese Awards 2015 |
|||
|
Award |
Cheese |
Category |
producer |
|
Super Gold |
KALTBACH Le Gruyère AOP |
Hard cheese with controlled designation of origin protection |
Fromagerie de Courgenay Emmi Operations Manager: Gérald Raboud 2950 Courgenay (JU) |
|
Super Gold |
Le Gruyère AOP |
Le Gruyère AOP: |
Fromagerie de Bémont Philippe Geinoz 2128 Le Brouillet (NE) |
|
Gold |
Winzer Käse |
Semi-hard cheese |
Grundbach Cheese Dairy Adrian Mayer 3665 Wattenwil |
|
Silver |
KALTBACH Extra Tasty |
Hard cheese |
Emmi |
|
Bronze |
Emmentaler AOP |
Emmentaler AOP : |
Peter Röthlisberger 3045 Meikirch |
|
Other awards |
|||
|
Gold |
Roth Grand Cru Reserve |
Category of cheeses that have won other national or international awards |
Emmi Roth USA Monroe, USA |
|
Bronze |
Humboldt Fog Mini |
Soft mould-ripened goat’s milk cheese, |
Cypress Grove Chevre Arcata, USA |
|
Bronze |
Roth GranQueso |
Hard cheese |
Emmi Roth USA |
Links
World Cheese Awards:
gff.co.uk/awards/world-cheese-awards/
Fromagerie de Courgenay:
www.courgenay.ch/fr/economie/entreprises/welcome.php
Grundbach cheese dairy:
kaesereigrundbach.jimdo.com
Contact
Sibylle Umiker, Head of Media Relations
T +41 58 227 50 66, E-mail: media@emmi.com
About Emmi
Emmi is the largest Swiss milk processor and one of the most innovative premium dairies in Europe. In Switzerland, the company focuses on the development, production and marketing of a full range of dairy and fresh products as well as the production, ageing and trade of primarily Swiss cheeses. Outside Switzerland, Emmi concentrates on brand concepts and specialities in established European and North American markets, and increasingly in emerging markets outside of Europe. The primary focus in fresh products is on convenience, natural goodness, sustainability and lifestyle. In the cheese business, Emmi positions itself as the leading company worldwide for Swiss cheese. Emmi’s customers are the retail trade, the hospitality and food service sector, and the food industry.
In Switzerland, the Emmi Group includes around 25 production sites of every size. Abroad, Emmi and its subsidiaries have a presence in 13 countries, seven of which have production facilities. Emmi exports products from Switzerland to around 60 countries.
In 2014, Emmi posted net sales of CHF 3,404 million and a net profit adjusted for extraordinary effects of CHF 109 million. In the first half of 2015, the company achieved sales of CHF 1,563 million. Adjusted net profit, this amounted to CHF 47 million. The company employs around 5,300 staff (full-time equivalents), of which 3,000 in Switzerland.
Source: Emmi