We have had wonderful days with cheese factory visits, varied and educational lectures, a magnificent cheese buffet, annual meeting and visits to some of the very best cheese shops in Oslo.

So what have we done this year?

On Monday, various groups visited Thorbjørnrud Ysteri, Egge gård, Eiker gårdsysteri, Rygge Meieri, Skarrbo gård and Ørken gård - there we got to say hello to the animals, see and learn about the cheese dairies, have lunch and taste cheeses from the different producers. The day ended at Winther Aker brygge, who served a lovely three-course meal for 150 people.

Tuesday was the big seminar day. Andreas Viestad gave a powerful and engaging opening lecture, before we learned about cheese and taste from various angles from, among others, Bronwen Percival (Neal’s Yard Dairy), Benjamin Wolfe (USA), Jules Mons (MonS) and Siv Skeie (NMBU).

At the back of the room, the participants had the opportunity to taste concentrated umami, and then give an assessment of which cheese contained the most umami – parmesan or gamalost. Eurofins had previously analyzed the various cheeses, and the results were presented on stage towards the end of the day. In true Oscar style, Kristin received an envelope which revealed that an SJH’s aged gamalost (5 months) contained almost twice as much glutamine, also known as the taste of umami, as a Parmesan aged 12 months.

The day ended with a gigantic buffet of traditional Norwegian food and cheeses from all over Europe - everything from Ukrainian brown cheese, Austrian graukäse and other niche productions, to well-known brand names and former WCA winners. Many thanks to Katharina Sandberg Lund and students from Vestby vgs, who curated it all.

Wednesday was the last day, set aside for the annual meeting of FACEnetwork, as well as a small workshop with the various working groups within the organization (hygiene, technical and marketing). After lunch, we took about 80 of the guests to various cheese shops in Oslo: Frogner Special, Fromagerie, Gutta på Haugen, Jacob’s, Galopin, Maschmanns, Annis Pølsemakeri and Winther Ysteri.

Thank you to:
The organizing committee which, in addition to Norsk Gardsost, consisted of FACEnetwork, Matcompaniet, TINE and NMBU.

Exhibitors: IMCD, Eurofins, Myconeos, Gamalostbudeia and the Ukrainian cheese association.

Supporting contributors: Wangensten, Valdres Bakst, Oluf Lorentzen, Askim Frukt- og Bærpresseri, Fjordland.

And last but not least, Innovation Norway, for their financial support!