The world's best cheese revealed – and it's not British or French

This year’s World Cheese Awards took place at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, South Wales – Getty

It may be most famous for an especially thrilling European Ryder Cup victory in 2010, but the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, South Wales, became the site of an even more nail-biting affair. On Wednesday evening, a gruyere was named the best cheese in the world for the fifth time in the event’s 34-year history, beating an expectant home nation to top spot.

The gruyere, made by the village dairy Vorderfultigen, capped off a stellar night for classic cheeses, with a gorgonzola dolce finishing second.

It was partially a disappointing night for British cheese makers hoping to make the most of their home advantage by winning top prize for the first time since 2017. However, a quarter of the cheeses in the top 16 hailed from the UK. Ticklemore’s Devon blue finished eighth; Berkshire’s manchego-like Spenwood came ninth; Sinodun Hill, a soft goat’s cheese from Oxfordshire placed 11th, and in a welcome nod to the local cheesemaking tradition, Gorwydd Caerphilly, from nearby Somerset, finished 12th.

This year’s winner was a gruyere from the village dairy Vorderfultigen in Switzerland

“I’m so happy for the whole consortium, the 155 cheesemakers we’re representing,” said Denis Kaser, marketing manager at Gruyere AOP. “There’s hard work behind it, with a lot of emotion we came here with some hope to bring the award back home. Thank you to all of you.”

Much like Eurovision, the World Cheese Awards, which saw 250 judges from across the world descend on Newport, was moved from Ukraine due to the ongoing war. A range of Ukrainian cheeses competed, including a jet black cheddar and a beautifully caramely gouda-style, showcasing the best of the country’s embattled cheesemakers’ produce.

But it was the gruyere that stole the show. For Swiss judge Christian Zuercher, the cheese evoked memories of his youth. “I grew up in a gruyere factory. It’s a really perfect hand-crafted cheese, which is really smooth in your mouth, even melting on your tongue. It has a lot of flavour, from herb to fruity to roasted, with a little leather note.”

Judges hard at work at the #WorldCheeseAwards @guildoffinefood @TelegraphFood pic.twitter.com/KYBNGEJntJ

— ToméMS (@tmorrissyswan) November 3, 2022

Now in its 34th year, the World Cheese Awards, founded by the Guild of Fine Food in 1988, has seen 11 British winners in its history, more than our eternal cheese rivals France. Recent champions include Cornish Kern in 2017 and Bath Blue in 2014. It has evolved into a glamorous occasion attended by cheesemongers, producers and writers from all over the world.

As one of the 250 judges at the evermore glamorous affair (we were treated to a lusty Welsh choir on arrival), I tasted 40 of the 4,434 cheeses, 10 per cent of which were from the host country in a nod to Britain’s rapidly growing artisan cheese industry. Over two hours, my team of judges tested a wide range of cheese, from bland, rubbery mass-produced blocks to chilli-spiked blues and more cottage cheese than anyone needs to consume in a day. There were disappointingly bland goat cheeses and unexpectedly overwhelming gruyeres (though not the winner). My firm belief that truffle shouldn’t be anywhere near cheese was confirmed by a sickly truffle-infused blue.

While some of the 10 cubic tonnes of cheese gets thrown out, the majority, according to the Guild of Fine Food, goes to animal feed.

A total of 4,434 cheese were entered into this year’s competition

Generally, crowd-pleasing and complex classic cheeses, like parmesan, gouda or manchego, do well, as do blues, with many of the judging tables choosing one as their ‘super gold’, to be judged by the head judges. After much deliberation, my table opted for a Portuguese ricotta-like cheese: it had a wonderfully cloudy texture and was beautifully balanced between sweet, salt and acidity.

But it was to be the gruyere that stole the show.

“Le gruyere AOP are no strangers to the world champion crown, so perhaps it isn’t a surprise they’ve won this year,” said John Farrand, managing director of the Guild of Fine Food. “The awards have been a huge success here in Wales, and there’s no doubt that our 250 influential judges from across the world will leave having experienced some of the wilder Welsh food and drink culture. With four in the top 16, British cheeses have outperformed their entry ration, so it’s been a successful year for British cheese.”