Bath Soft Cheese triumphs in 2019 Artisan Cheese Awards
Bath Soft Cheese Company has been declared Supreme Champion at this year’s national Artisan Cheese Awards for its eponymous Bath Soft Cheese.
Bath Soft Cheese Company also won Gold in the ‘Organic’ category for its Bath Soft Cheese and was judged against more than 400 cheeses from across the British Isles at St Mary’s Church in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire on April 2019, 25. This year’s runner-up was Templegall from Hegarty Cheese in County Cork.
The award winners were announced at a special ceremony at the Cheese Makers’ Supper on Saturday, May 4 during the weekend of the annual Artisan Cheese Fair in Melton Mowbray.
Bath Soft Cheese Company’s award-winning organic cheese is made by hand at Park Farm, Kelston near Bath, with milk from its own cows. The Bath Soft Cheese is soft and yielding with a white, bloomy rind. Once cut, it reveals an ivory-coloured interior. The flavour is mushroomy and creamy with a hint of lemons. This cheese dates back to the time of Admiral Lord Nelson who, in 1801, is believed to have been sent some by his father as a gift. It was recorded that Nelson’s sweetheart was ‘gratified’ by the flavour of this cheese.
The gold winners in each category were:
• Soft: Rollright from King Stone Dairy, Oxfordshire
• Semi-soft: Durrus Og from Durrus Cheese Ltd, County Cork
• Hard: Templegall from Hegarty Cheese, County Cork
• Blue: Stichelton from Stichelton Dairy Ltd Cheese, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire
• Cow: Graceburn from Blackwoods Cheese Company, Brockley, London
• Sheep: Sharpham Washbourne from Sharpham Partnership Ltd, Totnes, Devon
• Goat: Killeen Goat Mature from Killeen Farmhouse Cheese, Portumna, County Galway
• Vegetarian: Isle of Wight Blue from Isle of Wight Cheese Company, Sandown, Isle of Wight
• Raw Milk: Extra Mature Keen’s from Keen’s Cheddar Ltd, Wincanton, Somerset
• Organic: Bath Soft Cheese from Bath Soft Cheese, Bath
• Farmhouse: St James from St James Cheese, Cartmel, Cumbria
• British Territorial: Mature Keen’s Cheddar from Keen’s Cheddar Ltd, Wincanton, Somerset
• Protected Food Name: Dorset Blue Vinny from Dorset
• New Cheese: Evenlode from King Stone Dairy, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire
• Washed Rind: Edmund Trew from Blackwoods Cheese Company, Brockley, London
• Flavoured/Smoked Cheese: Bluebell Falls Goats Cheese Honey with Garlic & Thyme 500g log from Bluebell Falls Cheese, Charleville, County Cork
• Bentons’ Stilton Cup: Tuxford & Tebbutt, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire
Awards organiser Matthew O’Callaghan from the Melton Mowbray Food Partnership added: “Many congratulations to Bath Soft Cheese Company; a well-deserved victory against strong competition from UK and Irish cheese makers. The judges were impressed by the range and diversity of tastes of all the finalists this year.”
Sponsors for this year’s Artisan Cheese Awards included: Fine Cheese Co, Melton Town Estate, NFU, Bradbury’s Cheese, Bentons, A La Carte Packaging Solutions, Marks & Spencer, Melton Mowbray Food Partnership, Vegetarian Society, Melton Borough Council, Harvey and Brockless, Neal’s Yard, Howes Percival LLP and La Fromagerie.
