Winners in the inaugural Canadian Cheese Awards/Le Concours des fromages fins canadiens were announced during an Awards Ceremony, Reception and Tasting Gala on April 7 at St. Lawrence Market North in Toronto.
CHEESE OF THE YEAR
FROMAGE D'EXCEPTION
Le Baluchon
Fromagerie FX Pichet
Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade, Québec
MAIN CATEGORIES (16):
BEST FRESH CHEESE
Bella Casara Mascarpone
Quality Cheese
Vaughan, Ontario
BEST SEMI-SOFT CHEESE
Le Baluchon
Fromagerie FX Pichet
Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade, Québec
BEST FETA/CHEESE IN BRINE
Goat Milk Feta
Crystal Springs Cheese
Lethbridge County, Alberta
BEST FIRM CHEESE
Eweda Cru
Best Baa Dairy
Fergus, Ontario
BEST FIRM CHEESE WITH HOLES
Louis d'Or
Fromagerie du Presbytère
Sainte-Élisabeth-de-Warwick, Québec
BEST WASHED RIND CHEESE
La Meule des Champs
Fromagerie Éco-Délices
Plessisville, Québec
BEST MIXED RIND CHEESE
Rang des îles
Fromagerie Médard
Saint-Gédéon, Québec
BEST SOFT CHEESE/BLOOMY RIND CHEESE
Magie de Madawaska
Fromagerie Le Détour
Temiscouata Sur Le Lac, Québec
BEST FLAVOURED CHEESE
Raclette de Compton au Poivre
Fromagerie La Station
Compton, Québec
BEST SMOKED CHEESE
Natural Smoked Gouda
Sylvan Star Cheese
Red Deer, Alberta
BEST MILD/MEDIUM CHEDDAR
(aged up to 9 months)
Cheddar Île-aux-grues
S.C.A Isle-aux-Grues
L'Isle-aux-Grues, Québec
BEST OLD CHEDDAR
(aged from 9 months to 1 year)
COWS CREAMERY Extra Old Cheddar
COWS CREAMERY
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
BEST AGED CHEDDAR
(aged 1 to 3 years)
Farm House Traditional Clothbound Cheddar
The Farm House Natural Cheeses
Agassiz, British Columbia
BEST AGED CHEDDAR
(aged 4 years and more)
Agropur Grand Cheddar 5 ans
Agropur
Saint-Hubert, Québec
BEST GOUDA CHEESE
Golden Blyth
Blyth Farm Cheese
Blyth, Ontario
BEST BLUE CHEESE
Dragon's Breath Blue
That Dutchman's Farm
Economy, Nova Scotia
SPECIAL AWARDS (9):
BEST COW'S MILK CHEESE
Bella Casara Mascarpone
Quality Cheese
Vaughan, Ontario
BEST GOAT'S MILK CHEESE
Lenberg Farms Classic Reserve by Celebrity Lindsay Bandaged Cheddar
Mariposa Dairy
Lindsay, Ontario
BEST SHEEP'S MILK CHEESE
Lenberg Farms Reserve by Celebrity Tania Sheep Cheese
Mariposa Dairy
Lindsay, Ontario
BEST WATER BUFFALO CHEESE
Buffalo Paneer
Natural Pastures Cheese
Courtenay, British Columbia
BEST BLENDED-MILK CHEESE
Le Verdict d'Alexina
Fromagerie Le Détour
Temiscouata Sur Le Lac, Québec
BEST FARMSTEAD CHEESE
Plain Soft Goat Cheese
Noble Meadows Farm
Nobleford, Alberta
BEST ORGANIC CHEEESE
Le Baluchon
Fromagerie FX Pichet
Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade, Québec
BEST RAW-MILK CHEESE
Louis d'Or
Fromagerie du Presbytère
Sainte-Élisabeth-de-Warwick, Québec
BEST NEW CHEESE
Fontina Fumé
Fromagerie de l'Abbaye Saint-Benoît-du-Lac
Saint-Benoît-du-Lac, Québec
REGIONAL AWARDS (5):
BEST BRITISH COLUMBIA CHEESE
Farm House Traditional Clothbound Cheddar
The Farm House Natural Cheeses
Agassiz, British Columbia
BEST ALBERTA CHEESE
Natural Smoked Gouda
Sylvan Star Cheese
Red Deer, Alberta
BEST ONTARIO CHEESE
Bella Casara Mascarpone
Quality Cheese
Vaughan, Ontario
BEST QUEBEC CHEESE
Louis d'Or
Fromagerie du Presbytère
Sainte-Élisabeth-de-Warwick, Québec
BEST ATLANTIC CANADA CHEESE
COWS CREAMERY Extra Old Cheddar
COWS CREAMERY
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
The new and independent competition, with Loblaw Companies as Marquee Sponsor, has immediately become the biggest cheese competition in Canada with 76 producers from Newfoundland to British Columbia submitting 291 cheeses for judging. Appropriately, the competition reached its climax at the venue National Geographic has called the world's best food market.
Judging took place at University of Guelph, Department of Food Science headed by Dr. Arthur Hill, Chair and Professor in Food Science and an internationally recognized authority in cheese technology.
It is the first cheese competition in Canada open to all milks used in cheesemaking—cow, goat, sheep and water buffalo—with only pure natural cheese accepted for judging. That means with no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives, and no modified milk ingredients.
The Canadian Cheese Awards is sponsored by Loblaw Companies and Dairy Farmers of Canada, La Ferme Black River Game Farm, Plaisirs Gourmets, Palatine Hills Estate Winery, The Grange of Prince Edward Vineyards & Estate Winery, Mill St. Brewery, ACE Bakery, Seed to Sausage and The Great Canadian Cheese Festival, with historic St. Lawrence Market the venue sponsor.
The Official Cheesemongers of the Awards are the cheese shops of St. Lawrence Market: Chris' Cheesemongers, Olympic Cheese Mart and Scheffler's Delicatessen & Cheese.
As a service to the cheese industry and as a guide for consumers, Canadian Cheese Awards is produced by The Great Canadian Cheese Festival, the biggest artisan cheese show in Canada that is held annually in June in Ontario's Prince Edward County, in Bay of Quinte Region near Belleville. Georgs Kolesnikovs, founder and director of the Cheese Festival, serves as Awards Chairman.
Source: The Canadian Cheese Awards