Posted on 11/14/2025 11:35:10 AM PST by Red Badger
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https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2025/11/14/swiss-gruyere-crowned-the-2025-world-cheese-champion_6747449_4.html
The World Cheese Awards first prize winner, a gruyère AOP special over 18 months cheese presented by Swiss cheese maker Hitz Pius, from the Vorderfultigen cheese company, during the 37th edition of the World Cheese Awards, in Bern, Switzerland, November 13, 2025. GABRIEL MONNET / AFP A Swiss gruyère was crowned the 2025 World Cheese Champion on Thursday, November 13, seeing off competition from more than 5,000 rivals from 46 countries. The 18-month-old Vorderfultigen Spezial produced by Bergkaserei Vorderfultigen won the title at the World Cheese Awards, held in the Swiss capital Bern.
The winning cheese came from a mountain dairy in the pre-Alps region of Gantrisch, just south of Bern. Grand final judge Perry Wakeman said it was the kind of cheese "that would make people get excited about cheese." "It's a big old cheese – there's a lot going on. The texture is beautiful: it's flinty as you break it apart; the crystalline in there are so delicate," he said. "It is massive. It makes an impact."
It was the first time that the contest, created by the British-based Guild of Fine Food in 1988, has been staged in cheese-loving Switzerland – though gruyère cheeses have scooped the top prize five times before.
Kuba Maziarczyk, super jury member and Polish cheesemaker, smells a piece of cheese during the 37th edition of the World Cheese Awards, organised by the Guild of Fine Food, in Bern, on November 13, 2025. GABRIEL MONNET / AFP
Appearance, nose, flavor
Laid out on seemingly endless tables draped in white tablecloths, 5,244 cheeses were tasted by an international jury of 265 experts made up of cheesemakers, chefs, buyers, sellers and journalists from more than 40 countries, recognizable by their yellow aprons.
"First of all, we're looking at the visual appearance of the cheese: how it looks like from the inside and outside," Polish cheesemaker Kuba Maziarczyk, one of the judges in the final, told Agence France-Presse (AFP). The second step "is the nose: so all the aromas that the cheese is actually giving us." And then, it comes down to flavor.
The judges made an initial selection of the most outstanding cheeses before a second and then a final evaluation by a "super jury" of judges from 14 different countries.
"Cheese must reflect its terroir; it must be balanced in terms of taste, aroma and flavor," said French judge Laurent Dubois. "It shouldn't be too aged or too young. Cheese is always a question of harmony. That's why good cheeses are often those with a long tradition," he said.
The joy of cheese
Around 2,000 people watched the action inside Bern's Festhalle exposition hall. "We've got blues. We've got hard cheeses. We've got all different styles. That makes it really interesting," said British judge Nigel Barden, a food and drink broadcaster for the BBC. "Just when you think your palate's getting a little bit tired, suddenly a cheese comes along and really excites you," he said. "And that's the joy of the World Cheese Awards."
The Guild of Fine Food's managing director John Farrand told AFP that the awards were originally founded to raise the profile of small cheesemakers. In the 1980s, dairy production had become "quite consolidated," he said. "I think perhaps we'd forgotten the connection between the land, the milk, the animal, and the farm," and ultimately the cheese, he said.
The awards were established "to try and remind the world that small can be beautiful in cheesemaking terms." Next year's World Cheese Awards will be held in Cordoba, Spain.
Le Monde with AFP
It’s just preference
I like super sharp Irish or Hereford
And very aged Gouda $$$$
And machego
And angel style Brie
I’ll eat any cheese but Limburger
Yes, this is a foolish exercise. With next year’s “contest” in Spain, it’s easy to predict that manchego will come out on top.
How ‘bout Venezuelan Beaver Cheese?
That was really good.
Boar’s Head 3 pepper cheese!
I love Gruyere by itself, and in French Onion Soup….
Now I’m hungry for some French Onion soup. Gotta put that on the list for cold winter days.
I love a good Limburger. The old Liederkranz was one of my favortes, until big food bought them out & changed it.
That said, I also like Gubmint cheese. Those free 5lb blocks of real American cheese made the best grilled cheese sandwiches and mac & cheese ever!
Interesting. I’ve never tried it. What kind of spray can does it come in?
Swiss gruyère is indeed delicious, but nothing beats Red Leicester in my book!
I do prefer Gruyere for an everyday eat-on-it’s-own cheese.
Cooking usually needs a Swiss or Cheddar.
I once tried a real English Cheddar, aged 10 years. IMHO, a waste of money. Although the actual cheese was very good, the salt had migrated to the outer half of the block, which was nearly inedible.
I can go with that. Gruyere is pretty awesome. I’m sure I don’t pronounce it right. But that’s my only quibble.
Are you feeling a little peckish?
Cheese is good
Well then, there goes the price of the stuff through the roof.
“Finest in the district”
What is amish swiss cheese?
The Amish pride themselves in creating the finest cheeses from their family recipes. Unlike typical swiss, Amish Swiss cheese is milder and creamier with a nutty flavor. It pairs well on sandwiches or crackers, or sliced for an appetizer platter. Keep refrigerated before and after opening.
Goes good with apples and grapes.
You can trust the Amish. The Swiss? Hmmmm
Do you have blue cheese?
Where did Velveeta place this year?
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