Described as “an alpine-style, buttery medium-hard cheese (with) deep aroma and caramel notes,” Cornish Kern scored 75 points out of a possible 80 – beating the other 3,000 entries from 35 different countries, including Australia, South Africa, Japan and the USA.
Cathy Strange, judge and global executive coordinator for Whole Foods Market in the USA, described the cheese as: “Visually stunning, with its standout dark rind and the quality of milk is really evident in this cheese. It has an amazing age and a complexity, which keeps on coming. This is a super cheese and I would be glad to have it on any table.”
Technical manager at Lynher Dairies Cheese Company, Sarah Barnes, said: “I’m on top of the cheese world! Throughout the course of the day our Kern went through so many layers of judging, going from 3,001 to 66, to the top 16 and then World Champion, with the judges saying some wonderful things about our cheese.
“Cornish Kern is a new concept (just a few years in development), so to see it come to this is so exciting for the company, and a great start for this cheese’s career.”
An Italian Blu Di Bufala made by Quattro Portoni Caseificio came in second place with 69 points, followed by an Austrian Capellaro from Almenland Stollenkaese in joint third with the South African Dalewood Huguenot made by Dalewood Fromage - both scoring 67 points.
Celebrating its 30th anniversary, this year’s World Cheese Awards formed part of Taste of London Festive Edition 2017, where entries underwent taste, nose and grading in a single day by the panel of 16 international judges.
Managing director of event organizer, the Guild of Fine Food, John Farrand commented: “The competition was immense this year, with more nations represented than ever before, so bravo to Lynher Dairies for taking the top gong on this truly international stage.
“Cornish Kern is a perfect example of cheesemaking at its finest, so it’s wonderful to see this small team receive such recognition for their craft and a heartfelt pat on the back from the global cheese community.
“Taste of London Festive Edition has provided a wonderful backdrop for us this year, with some of the finest food and drink around under the same roof as the world’s best cheese, and it has given us great pleasure to return to London to celebrate three decades at the heart of the cheese world, before the World Cheese Awards sets sail again for pastures new in 2018.”