A Belgian cheesemaker has been awarded the prize for the best cheese in the world at a prestigious cheese competition in France.
The Groendal dairy in Rumbeke, Flanders, won the prize for its Gouda cheese, ‘Ancienne Belgique’ – the first time in five years that a non-French cheese has won the top award at the annual Concours Internationale de Lyon.
Writing on Instagram, the dairy said it was “very proud” to have done so well in the competition: “It is a great honour for a Belgian cheese to be chosen as the best cheese in the world at the largest cheese competition in France, the cheese country par excellence,” they said.
More than 2,000 cheeses from 23 countries were entered into the competition. They were assessed by 630 judges, who measured them against five criteria – taste, appearance, texture, balance and aroma - and awarded a score out of 100. The Ancienne Belgique Gouda received a perfect score of 100 out of 100.
Manager Louis-Philippe Deweer told VRT that he and his colleagues “had to take a second look at the certificates when they arrived, which stated that we had won gold medals with three cheeses.”
He added: “One of them also said 'World's Best Cheese'. But we weren't sure if our cheese had actually been chosen as the best cheese in the competition or simply the best Belgian cheese. My brother finally called to check. And that's when it turned out that our cheese had indeed been named the best cheese in the world."
A ’painful’ sight for the Dutch
The Belgian victory was described as “painful” in De Telegraaf. “The Flemish not only outdo us on our national pride, but also on our own showpiece,” wrote the Dutch newspaper.
Gouda is named after the Dutch city south of Amsterdam where it originated. While ‘Gouda Holland’ is an EU-protected product and can only be made in the Netherlands using milk from Dutch cows, the term ‘Gouda’ is used as a general term for cheeses produced in the Dutch style.
At the Groendal dairy, they aim to make “hard cheeses melt in your mouth”.
“This combination of our two cheese neighbours - hard Dutch cheese with the tangy flavour of soft French cheese - is a hit," Deweer told De Telegraaf.
