A goat cheese from Spain won first place among 4,079 competitors from more than 40 countries during the World Cheese Awards last Wednesday (3).
The winning cheese, Olavidia, produced at the artisanal cheese factory Quesos y Besos, got 103 votes, beating the Frenchman Fromagerie Berthaut, a soft cheese made with the Marc de Bourgogne liqueur, and which received 98 votes. The dispute was fierce until the last minute.
One of the judges who attended the event, Briton Jason Hinds, stated, just before voting, that the Spanish goat cheese had a “rich, seductive and creamy texture” and “a round, warm taste”. “I just wanted to sleep with him,” he said, with a smile, at the ceremony broadcast live by organizers in the northern Spanish city of Oviedo.
“A humble cheese factory”
Silvia Peláez, owner of Quesos y Besos, described the factory as “a small and humble cheese factory in Jaén,” a southern Spanish city best known for its widely exported olives. “The daily work pays off,” she said, adding that the factory, officially known as Lácteos Romero Peláez, has just six employees.
Their goat cheese has a noticeable black band in the middle, which was mentioned by the judges. Competition organizers said the cheese was “ripened with penicillium candidum and olive ash”. Some comments indicated that gray was the black belt.
The previous winner was the organic blue cheese Rogue River Blue, the first American champion at the well-known awards, held at the time in Bergamo, Italy, in 2019. Last year, the competition did not take place due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
That’s how the best cheese in the world is chosen
About 250 judges, including food scientists, vendors, chefs and sommeliers participate in the event. In this edition, it all started with tables spread out in a large conference room, each with three judges who tasted and scored some 45 cheeses distributed in front of them.
They focused on the “appearance, feel, smell and flavor of each starter, scoring aspects such as the appearance of the crust and dough, as well as the aroma, body and texture of the cheese, with most points attributed to the taste and mouthfeel “.
After the first stages, the semifinalists are replaced by only 16 finalists, whose fate is decided by a “superjury” of 16 judges, who have no commercial link with the producers of these cheeses, according to the organization.
In the final round of judging, each of the 16 judges spoke about a cheese, praising its characteristics, and then the 16 judges tasted the same cheese and voted holding cards with a number, on a scale of 1 to 10, awarding points, in plain sight. of the public. The same method was used for the other 15 finalists.
The winning goat cheese was the last to be judged among the finalists and won the day.
But is he really the best in the world right now? His title is “World Cheese Champion,” John Farrand, managing director of the UK’s Guild of Fine Food, which organizes the awards, told CNN. “The judges chose it as the best cheese in the world. He now holds the crown.”
*Translated material. Read the original in Spanish.
Reference: CNN Brasil
