Coolamon Cheese Factory wins Bronze at World Cheese Awards 2019
An artisan cheese producer in a small Riverina town has been named among the winners at the 32nd annual World Cheese Awards in Bergamo, Italy, standing out from the crowd as a record-breaking 3,804 entries were judged in a single day at Fiera di Bergamo on Friday 18 October.
The Coolamon Cheese Company, a three-year-old, agritourism business, was awarded a coveted BRONZE award for its “De Brie” cheese, a creamy cheese with a soft white inner & an outer white mould rind made in the French Brie-style.
With entries representing 42 nations from six continents at the World Cheese Awards this year, Coolamon Cheese has gained an internationally recognised seal of approval from a truly global cheese event. Visiting Italy for the very first time, the competition formed part of Bergamo’s annual FORME festival, taking place alongside the brand new international dairy trade show, B2Cheese.
Keiran Spencer, General Manager of Coolamon Cheese explains: “We’ve been in production for 3 years. I want to take the business to the next level and these awards were part of that plan. Our own Brie-style cheese has always been a best seller for us, but I wanted to know if we could go head-to-head with the best artisan producers in the world. Given that we were up against the world’s best, we’re of course over the moon with the result. The team will celebrate by pairing our winning cheese with some good wines I believe!”
Records were broken across the board again this year, as more nations than ever before entered cheeses into the planet’s biggest cheese-only event. Entries made their way by boat, truck, train and plane via 13 consolidation points around the world, from countries including Brazil, Israel, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. 260 judges from 35 different countries then assessed the appearance, texture, aroma and flavour of the cheeses, allocating the awards to worthy entries.
As 3,804 eventually became 16, the crowds then watched on as the finest palates in the global cheese community debated the world’s top cheese. Featuring cheesemakers, cheesemongers, buyers, chefs, retailers and writers, the International Super Jury all put forward their chosen cheeses live on World Cheese TV, before crowning this year’s World Champion Cheese. 
Notes for editors:
World Cheese Awards 2019 – the background
- The World Cheese Awards is organised by the Guild of Fine Food
- The main sponsors of the World Cheese Awards 2019 are Barber’s 1833, Grana Padano, Le Gruyère AOP, Brazzale, Deliziosa, Meny, Savencia and the USA Cheese Guild
- 2019 was the 32nd edition of the competition Top of Form
- The biggest ‘cheese-only’ competition in the world – no yoghurt, cream, butter or other dairy – championing the world’s best cheesemakers, from tiny artisans to global heavyweights
- A record-breaking 3,804 cheeses were entered (10% increase on previous record set in 2018)
- Entries represented a record-breaking 42 different nations from six continents – including Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jersey, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the USA and Wales
- 260 judges from 35 different countries travelled to Bergamo to nose, taste and grade the cheese
- Judging broadcast live on WCA TV at gff.co.uk/wca
- A Super Jury of 16 judges decided the final winning World Champion Cheese
How the judging works
Judges work in teams of three to four, identifying any cheeses worthy of a Bronze, Silver or Gold award. They assess the look, feel, smell and taste of each entry, scoring aspects such as the appearance of the rind and paste, as well as the cheese’s aroma, body and texture, with the majority of points awarded for flavour and mouthfeel. Each team then nominates one exceptional cheese as the Super Gold from their table. These cheeses are the best in the world and are judged a second time by the Super Jury of 16 internationally recognised experts, who each select a cheese to champion in the final round of judging. The Super Jury, representing all four corners of the globe, then debates the final 16 in front of a live consumer and trade audience, before choosing the World Champion Cheese live on WCA TV.