The trophy for the best cheese on the globe has returned to the UK after the alpine-style Cornish Kern took the top honour at the 2017 World Cheese Awards.

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The dark-rinded cheese, made with pasteurised cows’ milk by Lynher Dairies, was named World Champion by the Super Jury in front of hundreds on onlookers at London’s Tobacco Dock, which played host to the 30^th instalment of the annual awards.

The champion’s score of 75 out of a possible 80 was run close by the distinctive Blu di Buffala, produced in Italy by Caseficio Quattro Portoni – the runner-up in 2012.

Staged alongside the Taste of London event at Tobacco Dock, judging began in the morning with more than 250 judges, representing 29 different nations, assessing over 3,000 cheeses from 35 countries.

Sixty-six separate teams awarded bronze, silver and gold awards to cheeses in a variety of styles before each choosing a Super Gold to put before the Super Jury judging panel.

The panel – which featured experts from the UK, Japan, South Africa, Mexico, France, Italy and Sweden – then narrowed the selection down to just 16. Each of these were tasted and scored in front of a live audience and broadcast across the world via the online WCA TV channel.

Whole Foods Market cheese buyer Cathy Strange hailed Cornish Kern as “visually stunning”.

She added: “You can see the quality of the milk in this cheese and the complexity comes at you in layers and layers.”

Fellow Super Jury member, and sales director at Neal’s Yard Dairy, Jason Hinds said: “There are sweet notes but what I really liked was the right hand turn it made into savoury meaty notes.”

Among other awards presented at the event was Exceptional Contribution to Cheese, which went to Louis Aird of Canadian cheesemaker Saputo.

The trophy for Le Gruyère AOP Cheese Counter of the Year went to Cheese Etc – The Pangbourne Cheese Shop, near Reading. The Fine Cheese Co branch in London’s Belgravia was took second place, and The Cheese Shop in Nottingham took third.

lynherdairies.co.uk