Gunnar Waagen from Tingvollost was honoured with the Exceptional Contribution to Cheese trophy for 2023, for his efforts to raise the profile of Norwegian artisan cheeses.
Waagen’s Kraftkar blue won the title of World Champion Cheese at the awards in San Sebastiàn in 2016, as well as the Champion of Champions trophy, triumphing over 21 former winners.
Waagen told FFD this led to “fantastic coverage and widespread enthusiasm in Norway”. “Then the Norwegian cheese revolution started!” Tingvollost was established in 2003 in the Tingvoll municipality, two hours south of Trondheim.
The Waagens started making cheese in 2006, then won a Gold medal at WCA in 2011. They expanded to their current capacity in 2019, and now produce about 32 tonnes a year. They were the only Norwegian entrants in WCA until 2015 (in contrast, in 2023, 296 cheeses were submitted by 71 cheesemakers).
Tingvollost’s three other pasteurised cows’ milk cheeses – Mild Mester (a white mould, semi-soft); Edel Frue (a Camembertstyle) and Vismann (a mild blue) – have all won multiple medals at the WCA in previous years.
They have also received other accolades at the Nordiske Ostefestival and the Norwegian Cheese Championship – organised by Norsk Gardsost, which represents the country’s artisan cheese sector, and partnered with the Guild of Fine Food to help organise this year’s World Cheese Awards.
Waagen said Norsk Gardost, of which he is now a chairman, “has preserved Norwegian cheese traditions and raised the bar of professional production by increasing knowledge sharing”.
He is also full of praise for competitions like the WCA for giving the Norwegian cheese industry visibility. The key to the sector’s success has been “to work together to show the world how good Norwegian cheese is”.
