World Cheese Awards expected to set record

The competition will be held from 16-18 November in San Sebastián, Spain. This city is the 2016 European Capital of Culture. The show will be open to consumers and tourists, as well as food professionals, buyers, and retailers. The organisers expect a record number of participating cheese producers this year. In 2015, 2,727 individual cheeses were judged.

Cheeses from over 30 different countries are expected to line up in front of 250 judges from every corner of the globe, including international buyers, retailers, writers and cheesemakers, providing a golden opportunity for small artisan producers to spotlight their cheese on a world stage. With all tasting, nosing and conferring taking place within a single day, thousands of entries will be judged in order to identify any cheeses worthy of a Bronze, Silver or Gold award, before the World Champion Cheese is crowned later in the afternoon.

The World Cheese Awards judging will commence on Wednesday 16 November. All entries will be judged and whittled down to the top 60 in just one day. Then the best 16 cheeses will be voted for by a final judging panel later in the afternoon, when the 2016 World Champion Cheese will be crowned.

The World Cheese Awards is open for entry until Tuesday 11 October, unless the entry cap is reached before this date – early entry is recommended. Producers can enter online at www.gff.co.uk/wca.