UK-based cheesemaker, Quicke’s has landed four honours at the World Cheese Awards in Bergamo, with its multi award-winning Goat’s Milk Clothbound Cheese achieving a Gold rating for the third year running. Blind-tasted on Friday 18 October alongside a record-breaking 3,804 entries, the hard clothbound goat’s cheese impressed at the highest level once again, as the judges assessed cheeses from 42 different nations.
Three further accolades went to Quicke’s this year, as the competition visited Italy for the first time, with Silver awards going to both Buttery Clothbound Cheddar and Mature Clothbound Cheddar. Oak Smoked Goat’s Milk Clothbound Cheese also picked a Silver, marking the cheese’s first honour at the largest cheese-only awards on the planet.
Among the 260-strong judging team at this year’s World Cheese Awards were Mary Quicke MBE and Tom Chatfield, head of sales and marketing at Quicke’s, who joined experts representing 35 different nations. Both captaining their respective teams, Mary and Tom assessed cheeses from every corner of the globe, giving marks for look, feel, smell and taste, as the panel came together using the common language of cheese.
Mary Quicke explains: “We’re delighted to return from Italy with such an impressive haul of awards and it’s especially nice to receive recognition for cheeses across our whole range, with cow’s milk, goat’s milk and oak smoked wedges all getting the thumbs up. It’s an incredible experience to be surrounded by thousands of cheeses from six continents and I was thrilled to see Rogue River Blue become the World Cheese Awards’ first US champion, having judged at the American Cheese Society Awards for so many years. The world feels a lot smaller when the international cheese community comes together, so it’s a great honour to represent Britain at the competition and bring a few awards back to our little corner of Devon.”
Quicke’s
Nurturing the family’s land for 14 generations, Quicke’s crafts outstanding cheese from an idyllic corner of Devon. Understanding that great cheesemaking is an art, which begins out in the fields, Quicke’s farmers carefully manage their ancient pastures, feeding specially-bred cows on lush grass year-round so that they give the very best milk, a true expression of the landscape from which it came. The milk is collected each morning using time-honoured methods and each truckle is handmade, cloth-bound and slow-matured in the cool quiet of the farm’s maturing rooms.
Offering a selection of critically acclaimed Clothbound Cheddars, from a 3-month matured Buttery Cheddar to a 2-year matured Vintage Cheddar, Quicke’s combines a respect for the land with a passionate pursuit for innovation. The Quicke’s range also includes Oak Smoked Clothbound Cheddar, Elderflower Clothbound Cheese, Devonshire Red Clothbound Cheese, Double Devonshire Clothbound Cheese, and Goat’s Milk Clothbound Cheese, as well as whey butters made from this by-product of the cheesemaking process.
Web: www.quickes.co.uk
