Pitchfork Cheddar from Trethowan’s Dairy in Somerset was named Best British Cheese at the 32nd edition of the World Cheese Awards. The event, held in Bergamo, Italy, had a record-breaking 3,804 entries from 42 countries all judged in a single day. Judges worked in teams of three to four, identifying any cheeses worthy of a Bronze, Silver or Gold award assessing the look, feel, smell and taste of each entry, scoring on appearance as well as the aroma, body and texture.
Only in production since 2017, Pitchfork Cheddar is an organic, unpasteurised, traditional clothbound cheddar made just seven miles from Cheddar Gorge. Coming fourth overall in this year’s World Cheese Awards, Pitchfork Cheddar was joined in the Top 16 by the Trethowan brothers’ Gorwydd Caerphilly, with the dairy also picking up trophies for Best Mature Traditional Cheddar and Best Extra Mature Cheddar. Other honours around the UK went to Corra Linn from Errington Cheese, which picked up the Best Scottish Cheese trophy and Tysul Blue from Jones’ Cheese Co, which was named Best Welsh Cheese. In total, British cheesemakers won 11 Super Gold, 20 Gold, 33 Silver and 45 Bronze awards.