Blue mold cheese Nideleven Blå from Gangstad Gårdsysteri won the World Cheese
Awards (WCA), which was held in Trondheim at the end of October 2023. This is the third time that a Norwegian cheese wins the competition.

This year there was a record number of 4,502 cheeses from 43 countries entering the competition. They were judged by 264 judges from a total of 38 countries.

At the same time as the competition it was a big cheese festival with almost 5000 visitors. 38 different artisan cheesemakers showcased their cheeses, and the audience were lucky enough to taste them all if they wanted. There was a cheese shop, cheese restaurant, cheese seminar, cheese slicers, cheese games, and whatnot. The festival was packed with cheese!

The judging

The actual judging takes place in the first round by placing all cheeses on the table with 60 to 80 cheeses on each. A team of judges consists of two to three judges. They taste all the cheeses on the table to identify cheeses that they believe are worthy of “gold”, “silver” or “bronze” medal.

The cheeses are assessed according to colour, texture, consistency
tens and above all – taste. During the first round the judges debate their way to a common favourite who “wins the table”. This is nominated for semi-final. These cheeses receive the “Supergold” award. The around 100 “Supergull” cheeses are presented to the super jury.

This is a carefully selected panel of judges consisting of 16 international cheese experts with long experience. They must each choose their favorite to be taken into the final. Each judge presents their personal nomination with a short explanation on why they have chosen this particular one. The judges then tastes all the cheeses again, and gives one point-
sum each – from 0 to 7. The cheese with the highest total sum wins the title “World’s best cheese”.

The winner Gangstad Gårdsysteri in Norway

- It is completely incredible. It’s such a big deal! We have been making cheese for 25 years. This means so much, says managing director Maren Gangstad. - We have been building brick by brick for many years. We have gone from one employee to ten permanent employees, she says.

Organizers

The main organizer for this year’s competition was Hanen, together with Norsk Gardsost and Oi! Trøndersk Mat og Drikke. London based Guild of Fine Foods owns the competition.