Finalists named in Canadian Cheese Awards
Winners to be announced April 7 in Toronto in Canada’s biggest cheese competition attracting 291 entries from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island
The hunt for the Canadian Cheese of the Year took a leap forward with the completion of judging and announcement of the finalists in the inaugural Canadian Cheese Awards/Le Concours des fromages fins canadiens.
The new and independent competition, sponsored by Loblaw Companies, has quickly become the biggest cheese competition in Canada with 76 producers from Newfoundland to British Columbia submitting 291 cheeses for judging.
Winners will be revealed during an Awards Ceremony, Reception and Tasting Gala on April 7 at St. Lawrence Market North, Toronto, open to the public. To get advance notice and first crack at tickets—only 500 will be sold—add your name and email to the waitlist at
Here are the finalists in the search for the best artisan cheeses made in Canada:
MAIN CATEGORIES (16):
FRESH CHEESE
Bella Casara Mascarpone – Quality Cheese
President’s Choice® Mozzarella Cheese Ball – Loblaws Inc.
Plain Soft Goat Cheese – Noble Meadows Farm
St. John’s Fresh Cow’s Milk Cheese – Portuguese Cheese Company
SEMI-SOFT CHEESE
Baluchon – Fromagerie FX Pichet
Pikauba – Fromagerie Lehmann
Tête à Papineau – Fromagerie Montebello
FETA/CHEESE IN BRINE
Goat Milk Feta – Crystal Springs Cheese
Goat’s Milk Feta Cheese – Woolwich Dairy
President’s Choice® Goat’s Milk Feta Cheese in Brine – Loblaws Inc.
FIRM CHEESE
Eweda Cru – Best Baa Dairy
5 Brothers – Gunn’s Hill Artisan Cheese
Lenberg Farms Reserve by Celebrity Tania Sheep Cheese – Mariposa Dairy
FIRM CHEESE WITH HOLES
Benedictus – Fromagerie de Saint-benoit-du-Lac
Louis d’Or – Fromagerie du Presbytère
OKA L’artisan – Agropur
WASHED RIND CHEESE
La Meule des Champs – Fromagerie Éco-Délices
Le Frère Chasseur – Fromagerie Au Gré des Champs
Nevis – Glengarry Fine Cheese
MIXED RIND CHEESE
20 vaches – Fromagerie l’Atelier
Pied-De-Vent – Fromagerie du Pied-De-Vent
Rang des îles – Fromagerie Médard
SOFT CHEESE/BLOOMY RIND CHEESE
14 Arpents – Fromagerie Médard
Magie de Madawaska – Fromagerie Le Détour
Pont Blanc – Fromagerie Au Gré des Champs
FLAVOURED CHEESE
Jalapeno Gouda – That Dutchman’s Farm
Le Porto Bleu – Fromagerie Du Charme
Raclette de Compton au Poivre – Fromagerie La Station
Tomme au Poivre – Fromagerie Le Mouton Blanc
SMOKED CHEESE
Natural Smoked Gouda – Sylvan Star Cheese
Fontina Fumé – Fromagerie de Saint-benoit-du-Lac
Smoked Boerenkaas – Natural Pastures Cheese
MILD/MEDIUM CHEDDAR (aged up to 9 months)
Cheddar Île-aux-grues – S.C.A Isle-aux-Grues
L’Ancêtre Organic Medium Cheddar – Fromagerie L’Ancêtre
Maple Dale Cheese Medium White – Maple Dale Cheese
OLD CHEDDAR (aged from 9 months to 1 year)?
Cheddar Île-aux-grues – S.C.A Isle-aux-Grues
COWS CREAMERY Extra Old Cheddar – COWS CREAMERY
L’Ancêtre Organic Old Cheddar – Fromagerie L’Ancêtre
AGED CHEDDAR (aged 1 to 3 years)
Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar – COWS CREAMERY
Farm House Traditional Clothbound Cheddar – The Farm House Natural Cheeses
Lenberg Farms Classic Reserve by Celebrity Lindsay Bandaged Cheddar – Mariposa Dairy
AGED CHEDDAR (aged 4 years and more)
Agropur Grand Cheddar 5 ans – Agropur
Balderson Heritage Cheddar 5 year – Parmalat Canada
Maple Dale Cheese 5 Years White – Maple Dale Cheese
GOUDA CHEESE
Golden Blyth – Blyth Farm Cheese
Mountainoak Farmstead Premium Dutch Gold – Mountainoak Cheese
Old Growler Gouda – That Dutchman’s Farm
BLUE CHEESE
Celtic Farmstead – Glengarry Fine Cheese
Dragon’s Breath Blue – That Dutchman’s Farm
Le Ciel de Charlevoix – La Maison d’affinage Maurice Dufour
SPECIAL AWARDS (9):
BEST COW CHEESE
Louis d’Or – Fromagerie du Presbytère
Bella Casara Mascarpone – Quality Cheese
St. John’s Fresh Cow’s Milk Cheese – Portuguese Cheese Company
BEST GOAT CHEESE
Fresh Chevre Big Kick Herb & Garlic – Woolwich Dairy
Lenberg Farms Classic Reserve by Celebrity Lindsay Bandaged Cheddar – Mariposa Dairy
Plain Soft Goat Cheese – Noble Meadows Farm
BEST SHEEP CHEESE
Eweda Cru – Best Baa Dairy
Lenberg Farms Reserve by Celebrity Tania Sheep Cheese – Mariposa Dairy
Tomme au Poivre – Fromagerie Le Mouton Blanc
BEST WATER BUFFALO CHEESE
Belle Haven Buffalo Gouda – Quality Cheese
Buffalo Mozzarella – Quality Cheese
Buffalo Paneer – Natural Pastures Cheese
BEST BLENDED-MILK CHEESE
Le Clandestin – Fromagerie Le Détour
Le Soeur Angèle – Fromagerie Fritz Kaiser
Le Verdict d’Alexina – Fromagerie Le Détour
BEST FARMSTEAD CHEESE
Louis d’Or – Fromagerie du Presbytère
Natural Smoked Gouda – Sylvan Star Cheese
Plain Soft Goat Cheese – Noble Meadows Farm
BEST ORGANIC CHEEESE
Baluchon – Fromagerie FX Pichet
L’Ancêtre Organic Extra Sharp Cheddar – Fromagerie L’Ancêtre
L’Ancêtre Organic Old Cheddar – Fromagerie L’Ancêtre
BEST RAW-MILK CHEESE
Eweda Cru – Best Baa Dairy
Louis d’Or – Fromagerie du Presbytère
Tomme au Poivre – Fromagerie Le Mouton Blanc
BEST NEW CHEESE
Fontina Fumé – Fromagerie de Saint-benoit-du-Lac
Fresh Chevre Big Kick Herb & Garlic – Woolwich Dairy
Mascarpone – Quality Cheese
REGIONAL AWARDS (5):
BEST B.C. CHEESE
Buffalo Paneer – Natural Pastures Cheese
Farm House Traditional Clothbound Cheddar – The Farm House Natural Cheeses
Smoked Boerenkaas – Natural Pastures Cheese
BEST ALBERTA CHEESE
Natural Smoked Gouda – Sylvan Star Cheese
Mozzarella di Bufala Old West – Old West Ranch
Plain Soft Goat Cheese – Noble Meadows Farm
BEST ONTARIO CHEESE
Bella Casara Mascarpone – Quality Cheese
President’s Choice® Mozzarella Cheese Ball – Loblaws Inc.
St. John’s Fresh Cow’s Milk Cheese – Portuguese Cheese Company
BEST QUEBEC CHEESE
Fontina Fumé – Fromagerie de Saint-benoit-du-Lac
Louis d’Or – Fromagerie du Presbytère
Saputo Ricotta – Saputo
BEST MARITIMES CHEESE
COWS CREAMERY Extra Old Cheddar – COWS CREAMERY
Dragon’s Breath Blue – That Dutchman’s Farm
Tomme au cumin – Fromagerie au fond des bois
Cheese is listed alphabetically within each category or award. Where more than three finalists are shown, there were many entries and close scores. The Cheese of the Year was selected after several rounds of blind tastings of the best cheeses from the above categories.
Judging took place last week at University of Guelph, Department of Food Science, headed by Dr. Arthur Hill, Chair and Professor in Food Science and an internationally recognized authority in cheese technology .
It is the first cheese competition in Canada open to all milks used in cheesemaking—cow, goat, sheep and water buffalo—with only pure natural cheese accepted for judging. That means with no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives, and no modified milk ingredients.
An extensive knowledge of cheese, on technical basis as well as aesthetic values, was the key factor in selection of the Jury, the judges who will evaluate and score entries following blind tasting of the cheese. Members of the Jury are:
Yannick Achim,
Owner, Yannick Fromagerie, Montreal, the Laurentians and Quebec City
Janice Beaton,
Owner, Janice Beaton Fine Cheese, FARM Restaurant, Calgary
Odysseas Gounalakis,
Owner, Scheffler’s Delicatessen & Cheese, St. Lawrence Market, Toronto
Marla Krisko, Co-owner, Cheese Education Guild, Toronto
Josef Leupi, Cheese industry specialist, Rockland, Ontario
Ghislain Paquet,
Co-owner, Fromagerie De la Gare, Sherbrooke
Ian Picard, Maître Affineur, Fromagerie Hamel, Montréal, Repentigny, Québec
Geoff Rempel
Specialty Team Leader, Whole Foods Market
Square One, Mississauga
Vanessa Simmons, Cheese sommelier, Savvy Company, Ottawa
Nick Tsioros
Co-owner, Olympic Cheese Mart, Toronto.
In her role as Food Laureate, University of Guelph, Anita Stewart, culinary activist, author and founder of Food Day Canada, welcomed judges to Guelph and will serve as host of Awards festivities on April 7.
As a service to the cheese industry and as a guide for consumers, Canadian Cheese Awards is being organized by The Great Canadian Cheese Festival, the biggest artisan cheese show in Canada that is held annually in June in Ontario’s Prince Edward County, in Bay of Quinte Region near Belleville. Georgs Kolesnikovs, founder and director of the Cheese Festival, serves as Awards Chairman.
For additional information, please visit CheeseAwards.ca or telephone 1-866-865-2628.
The Canadian Cheese Awards is sponsored by Loblaw Companies with additional support by Dairy Farmers of Canada, La Ferme Black River Game Farm, Plaisirs Gourmets, Palatine Hills Estate Winery, The Grange of Prince Edward Vineyards & Estate Winery, Mill St. Brewery, ACE Bakery and The Great Canadian Cheese Festival.