Welsh dairy’s cheese wins record number of international awards

A farmer-led Welsh cooperative is on top of the world after scooping its best ever haul of awards at the dairy industry ‘Oscars’.

South Caernarfon Creameries (SCC) brought back four gold medals from the International Cheese and Dairy Awards – and two silvers and five bronzes.

For the first time in its 120-year history the Awards were not part of the Nantwich Show after moving 30 miles south to Bingley Hall, near Stafford, a venue better known for hosting concerts by the likes of the Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen.

The only gold discs on show this time were made of cheese and South Caernarfon Creameries picked up wins for their Mature Double Gloucester, Red Leicester, Mature Cheddar and Salted Butter.

They were also awarded Silver for their Mild Cheddar and Sliced Mature Cheddar and Bronze for Medium Cheddar, Double Gloucester, Caerphilly, Half-Fat and Lighter Cheddars.

SCC New Product Development Coordinator Trystan Povey said: “We are delighted to have had our best-ever performance at the International Cheese Awards which are very much a benchmark for quality in the cheese and dairy industry.

“It has been another very successful year for us at award events up and down the country and we believe it is important that we pit ourselves against the very best in our industry regularly.

“Quality is at the heart of everything we do and not only does regular competition keep us on our toes, it is also a guarantee to our valued customers that our products are of the very highest standard.

Following the event over 150 pounds of the award-winning cheese displayed at the Awards and the Love Cheese Live event which followed was donated to FareShare Cymru.

Sarah Germain, CEO at FareShare Cymru said “We are delighted to be partnering with South Caernarfon Creameries. Cheese is a very versatile ingredient and can be used in a wide variety of nutritious meals

“Through their work with FareShare Cymru they are helping support vulnerable people in our Welsh communities.”

FareShare Cymru are part of a UK national network of charitable food redistributors, made up of 18 independent organisations which take good quality surplus food from across the food industry to more than 10,500 frontline charities and community groups.

This year began with a double triumph as SCC’s show successes began at the very first event, the prestigious Virtual Cheese Awards, as their Double Gloucester cheese took a gold award and went on to be crowned the best cheese in Wales.

The creamery also makes other acclaimed territorial cheeses including Red Leicester and Welsh Caerphilly, along with its popular Dragon brand of everyday cheeses, which are a big hit with customers all over Wales and parts of the UK.