World Cheese Awards 2018, Bergen, Norway

A truly global cheese event, the World Cheese Awards has been bringing together cheesemakers, retailers, buyers, consumers and food commentators worldwide for over three decades.

The 2018 edition of the World Cheese Awards will form part of a brand new festival, Matnasjonen Norge, in partnership with HANEN, an organisation promoting the best that the Norwegian countryside has to offer.

A record-breaking 3,500 cheeses from every corner of the globe are expected to line up in the judging hall at Bergen’s Grieghallen on 2 November 2018 to be judged by an international panel of 230 experts from 29 nations. The world will be watching as the finest palates and noses around judge every entry in one day, transmitted live across the globe on WCA TV.

Visit www.ostevm.no for more information on the festival (Norwegian language only).

How the competition works

This year, cheeses from six continents will be staged in a huge arena at the Grieghallen in Bergen, with all entries judged in a single day by carefully assembled teams of technical experts, buyers, retailers and food writers.

Judges work in teams of three or four, identifying any cheeses worthy of a gold, silver or bronze award. They will be looking at the rind and the body of the cheese, its colour, texture, consistency and, above all, its taste.

Each of the teams will then nominate one exceptional cheese as the Super Gold from their table. These top-flight cheeses are the best in the world and will be judged a second time by the Super Jury of 16 internationally recognised experts, who will each select a cheese to champion in the final round of judging.

The Super Jury, representing all four corners of the globe, will then debate the final 16 in front of a live consumer and trade audience, before choosing the World Champion Cheese live on WCA TV, with cheese lovers across the globe tuning in for the drama.

Key Dates 2018

5th September 2018	Open for entry
28th September 2018	Closed for entry
2nd November 2018	World Cheese Awards 2018 Judging Bergen, Norway
3rd November 2018	World Cheese Awards 2018 Results Full results announced

How to enter 2018

Open for entry 5th September 2018. All entry information is for reference only.

2018 Cost of Entry
Cheesemakers in the UK*: £48 (+VAT) per cheese
Cheesemakers in Europe and Rest of World: £48 per cheese
*There is a special Specialist Cheesemakers class where association members can enter one cheese at £15 (+VAT)

Entry documents 2017 (2018 documents coming soon)

UK entry brochure | WCA 17 Classes | WCA17 Online Entry Guidance Notes | Special Entry Information Sheet for Non-EU countries | WCA17 consolidation

Consolidation points for deliveries will be available in: Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Ireland, South Africa, Spain, UK & USA. Entrants will be allocated to the nearest consolidation point and full delivery details will be issued closer to the delivery dates.

Ordering Logos and Labels

Order forms for World Cheese Awards 2017 labels and logos will be available from Monday 20 November. To order labels for your award-winning products or the electronic award artwork to incorporate into your product’s packaging please complete and return the relevant order form.

World Cheese Awards Brand Guidelines 2017 | World Cheese Awards 2017 Label Order Form |

World Cheese Awards Label Orders – Overseas P&P | World Cheese Awards 2017 Logo Order Form

WCA 2017 - London

The 2017 edition of the World Cheese Awards took place at Tobacco Dock in London.

The 3001 entrants at the World Cheese Awards 2017
John Farrand, MD of Guild of Fine Food, leading the judges to the cheese judging room
World Cheese Award judges on their way to taste 3001 cheeses
The cheese judges about to enter the judging room.
$World Cheese Award judges tasting just a small fraction of the impressive array of cheeses$
World Cheese Award judges tasting just a small fraction of the impressive array of cheeses
Buchanans hosted the World Cheese Awards Deli
The World Cheese Awards is kindly sponsored by international sponsors including Le Gruyère, Grana Padano and Barber's
One of 66 judging tables
A judging panel hard at work
Eleonora Borgonovi from Italy
Xanthe Clay, Charlie Beatty and Mary Quicke inspect a cheese with Sam Frank from Jumi in the US
Sue Cloke and Patrick McGuigan prepare the next cheese for tasting
Regula Ysewijn from Belgium
Adrian Boswell from Selfridges
Mark Hartstone, Stephen Kimber and Mick Whitworth
Sam Frank from Jumi (US)
Regula Ysewijn, Felicity Cloake and Mathew Carver
Kris Lloyd from Australia
Elyne Salagnon, Charles Bradford and Linda Farrand
Rolf Heskestad from TINE in Norway
Rachael Sills, Davide Fiori, Patrick Moore and Olivia Gratwick
Jen Grimstone-Jones (UK), Mark Jones (Wales) and Carlos Yescas (Mexico)
Morgan McGlynn from Cheeses of Muswell Hill (UK)
Martha Collison
Philip Stansfield from The Cornish Cheese Co. (UK)
Izumi Kajita from Japan
Kobus Mulder from South Africa
Roland Barthelemy from the International Cheese Guild in France
Jan-Arne Moen from Meny in Norway
Pascale Baudonnel, cheese consultant from Norway
Akmaral Imanbayeva, the World Cheese Awards's first judge from Kazakhstan
Patrick McGuigan, food and cheese journalist from the UK
Siri Helen Hansen-Barry from Meny, Norway
Victoria Urresti from Basque, host of World Cheese Awards 2016
Cathy Strange from Whole Foods Market (US)
Super Jury tasting the final 16 cheeses
Carlos Yescas giving his comments on one of the final 16
Siri Helen Hansen-Barry and Roland Barthelemy judge one of the final 16 cheeses
Super Jury deliberate on one of the final 16
Victoria Urresti contemplates the merits of one of the final 16
Super Jury showing their scores
John Farrand, MD of Guild of Fine Food, hard at work processing the results
Charlie Turnbull, Sarah Barnes from Lynher Dairies and Nigel Barden celebrate the World Champion Cheese: Cornish Kern
The World Champion Cheese: Cornish Kern
The final 16 jury with the World Champion Winner
Bob and Linda Farrand of Guild of Fine Food
Bob Farrand and Louis Aird, recipient of this years Exceptional Contribution to World Cheese
World Cheese Awards celebrates its 30th anniversary
Bernt Johannessen, John Farrand, Jon Georg Dale, Norway's Minister of Food and Agriculture, and Gunnar Waagen, President of the Norwegian Cheesemaker Association and owner of Tingvollost
Gunnar Waagen, President of the Norwegian Cheesemaker Association and owner of Tingvollost celebrates WCA 2018 going to Bergen, Norway
Jon Georg Dale (Minister of Food and Agriculture) and Julie Andersland (Commissioner of climate, cultural affairs and business development in the City Council of Bergen) cut a Kraftkar

Results 2017

Download a pdf of all results | Trophy winners pdf | Super Golds pdf | Top 16 pdf | Contribution to cheese

Search for winners online

Download press releases from our Press Room.

And you can read more about this year’s World Champion Cheese here

WCA 2016 - San Sebastián

In November 2016 we helped San Sebastián celebrate their status as European Capital of Culture by taking the awards to the Basque Country. It formed part of a wider International Cheese Festival.

Over 3000 cheeses were tasted by 66 panels in this year's World Cheese Awards in San Sebastián.
The great and the good of the international cheese world wait to be briefed in English and Spanish
GFF MD, John Farrand, welcomes judges from around the world
Entries ready for judging at the 2016 World Cheese Awards
Bruno Cabral (Brazil), Eleonora Borgonovi (Italy), Lucía Amor Fernández (Spain), Iñaki Etaio (Spain)
Guy Tullberg and Graham Padfield
Food writer and restaurant critic, Charles Campion, shares a joke with Nick Tsioros, from Olympic Cheese in Canada, and a student from the Basque Culinary Center
With over 3000 cheeses to be judged, our judges were arranged in 66 panels
Paul Heasman (UK), Tyson Danilson (USA) and Mikel Zeberio (Basque) inspect a cheese
An Idiazabal cheese from the Basque Country
Charles Martell (UK), Eva Vila (Spain) and Irache Garnica (Spain)
Veronica Baetje discusses one of the entries with her team
A judging team hard at work
One of the 3000+ cheeses tasted by our judges in San Sebastián
Gijs Dankers (The Netherlands), Chris Mercer (UK), Emily Murphy (USA)
Team Brazil/Mexico: Bruno Cabral, Georgina Yescas, Regina Olvera Apeitia, Pablo Loza, Carlos Yescas
Bob Farrand, founder of World Cheese Awards, with Cathy Strange, Global Cheese Buyer at Whole Foods Market
Kris Lloyd (Australia), Javier García Albarran (Spain), Mark Sansom (UK), Peter Mårtensson (Sweden)
Dhruv Baker (UK), Nobuteri Maeda (Japan) and Andrea Power (Barbados)
Emily Acosta (USA), Marwen Amor (Tunisia) and Simone Ficarelli (Italy)
Roland Barthélemy, president of the Guilde des Fromagers, tries one of the final 66 cheeses
Victoria Urresti, one of the key instigators for holding the World Cheese Awards in San Sebastián this year
BBC Radio 2's Nigel Barden interviews Rupert Titchmarsh
Adrian Boswell, cheese buyer at Selfridges
Andrea Power, one of Barbados's only cheese makers
Bruno Cabral, cheese maker and expert from Brazil
Carlos Yescas from Oldways Cheese Coalition
Catherine Fogel from Denmark
Cathy Strange, Global Cheese buyer at Whole Foods Market
Eleonora Borgonovi, cheese expert from Italy
Kobus Mulder from the South African Cheese Festival
Mary Quicke of world-renowned cheese makers Quicke's Traditional Ltd.
Nick Tsioris from Olympic Cheese in Canada
Peter Mårtensson from Sweden
Rumiko Honma, cheese importer at Fermier in Japan
Ruth Lozano from the Canary Islands
Suzy O'Regan, cheese expert from Woolworths Foods in South Africa
A very excited Kris Lloyd, from Woodside Cheese Wrights in Australia
The super jury celebrate the local cheese culture, holding their Idiazabal cheeses aloft on the coast of San Sebastián
Scorecards are up as the super jury decide which cheese deserves the highest prize of all
Roland Barthélemy addresses the audience in the super jury final
Bruno Cabral tells the rest of the judges about the final 16 cheese he is championing
The super jury vote
Victoria Urresti tells the audience about the final 16 cheese she has just tasted
The World Champion cheese with the super jury
An emotional Gunnar Waagen, cheese maker at Tingvollost, after being crowned World Champion Cheese 2016
Dinner guests enjoying traditional Basque culinary specialities
The WCA Judges' dinner at the spectacular Museo San Telmo in San Sebastián's old town
John Farrand, MD of Guild of Find Food, welcomes guests to the Judges' dinner at Museo San Telmo
The recipients of the Exceptional Contribution to Cheese award: Artzai Gazta, the organisers of the International Cheese Festival and the cheese makers of the Basque Country
The Champion of Champions panel vote on a cheese
The Champion of Champions panel make their way through the past World Champion Cheeses
Jose Carlos Capel and Victoria Urresti give a cheese their top score in the Champion of Champions tasting
Peio Etchelecu from Agour, twice previous winner of the World Champion Cheese, talks about his excitement about coming in second place in Champion of Champions tasting
The Champion of Champions: Kraftkar from Tingvollost, Norway
A double victory for Norwegian cheese, Kraftkar, made by Tingvollost, as they win Champion of Champions the after being crowned World Champion cheese 2016
The press interview the Champion of Champions winner from Norway

Results 2016

Download a pdf of all winners | Trophy winners pdf | Super Golds pdf | Top 16 pdf

Search for winners online

Download press releases from our Press Room.

Find out more

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Current Status:

Opening for entry 5th September 2018

World Cheese Awards 2018, Bergen, Norway

How the competition works

Key Dates 2018

Open for entry

Closed for entry

World Cheese Awards 2018 Judging

World Cheese Awards 2018 Results

How to enter 2018

Ordering Logos and Labels

WCA 2017 - London

Results 2017

WCA 2016 - San Sebastián

Results 2016

Find out more

Sponsors of this year's event

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