World Cheese Awards

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 next World Cheese Awards will be held in Oviedo, Spain in November 2021, as part of the Asturias Paraíso Natural Internacional Cheese Festival from the 3 – 6 November 2021. Originally due to take place in November 2020, the event has been rescheduled to 2021 due to concerns around the Covid-19 pandemic, to ensure that the event takes place in the truly international spirit that it has engendered for over 30 years.

John Farrand, managing director of the Guild of Fine Food, organisers of the World Cheese Awards, commented: “It gives me great pleasure to announce Oviedo as the next host city for WCA, following an extremely impressive bid from the Principality of Asturias, the City Council of Oviedo and the Cheese Institute. We received interest from potential host cities across the world, but the opportunity to bring WCA to Asturias was too good to miss, not least due to the region’s whole-hearted commitment to its food culture.”

In October 2019, WCA visited Italy for the first time, with judging taking place in Bergamo, as part of the city’s annual FORME cheese festival. Following an epic edition of the World Cheese Awards in Bergen, Norway in November 2018, where records were broken across the board with 3,472 cheeses from 41 different countries being judged in a single day, the 32nd edition broke further records with 3,804 cheeses being entered in 2019. Full results can be found below.

To sign up to receive reminders about entering World Cheese Awards 2021, please complete the World Cheese Awards Mailing List enquiry form at the bottom of the page. Please note that the enquiry form is to request to be added to our mailing list to receive notifications by email once the entry dates are confirmed.

More info on the International Cheese Festival can be found here: internationalcheesefestival.com

Press release: World Cheese Awards, Oviedo – rescheduled to 2021

Key Dates 2021

August 2021	Open for entry
September 2021	Closed for entry Entry closes
Mid-late October 2021	Deliveries due to the consolidation points Delivery dates, addresses & instructions will be issued to entrants with delivery labels nearer the delivery date
November 2021	Cheese staged Oviedo, Spain
November 2021	World Cheese Awards 2021: Judging Judging takes place
November 2021	World Cheese Awards 2021: Tasting tours at International Cheese Festival, Oviedo
November 2021	World Cheese Awards 2021: Results Full results announced

Results 2019

Promoting your awards including labels and logos

Ordering Labels & Digital Logos If you have achieved awards for your products in the last three years (2019, 2018 or 2017) you can order World Cheese Awards award labels (stickers) or the electronic award logo artwork to display on your product’s packaging. Use of the labels and electronic logos are subject to the Logo Brand Guidelines. Please download and read the Brand Guidelines and then complete and return the relevant Label order form or Logo Artwork request form(s), available from the links below. Brand Guidelines: World Cheese Awards Brand Guidelines 2019 | World Cheese Awards Brand Guidelines 2019 – ES | World Cheese Awards Brand Guidelines 2019 – FR | World Cheese Awards Brand Guidelines 2019 – IT | World Cheese Awards Brand Guidelines 2019 – PT Labels You can buy award stickers (Bronze, Silver, Gold and Super Gold) to affix to your award-winning cheeses. Order form for Labels: World Cheese Awards 2019 Label Order Form If you would like your labels sent to Ireland, EU or rest of world please refer to this label P&P cost matrix to complete your order form: World Cheese Awards Label Orders – Overseas P&P Logo artwork (electronic format) Award logo artwork in digital format (Bronze, Silver, Gold or Super Gold) You can request the relevant Bronze, Silver, Gold or Super Gold award logo(s) as digital artwork to incorporate into your own packaging designs, to use on your website and in marketing materials. The logos are supplied in jpg and eps formats. Order form for Electronic Logo Artwork: World Cheese Awards 2019 Logo Artwork Request Form Please note that a charge may be applicable for the Logo Artwork, depending on the company turnover as stated on entry to the awards. **Please note: All label and logo orders are processed in order of receipt. If payment is applicable, orders cannot be dispatched until payment is received. When completing any of the forms please ensure you download and save a copy to your computer first before filling in the details, saving it and returning it to us. You can return the form by email, post or fax and the details are on the form. Label and logo usage is subject to the most current version of the World Cheese Awards Logo Brand Guidelines** Award Certificates A printed copy of the certificate(s) for your award-winning product(s) will be posted to you in November. Once this has arrived there will be guidance provided on how to request a PDF copy of the certificate(s) for your records. Press Release Template for World Cheese Awards 2019 award-winners Make the most of your award with this Press Release Template to personalise and send to local and national press. The press release contains the vital statistics for this year’s awards and provides background detail about World Cheese Awards. Download the template: WCA 2019 Template for winners | WCA 2019 Template for winners – French | WCA 2019 Template for winners – Greek | WCA 2019 Template for winners – Italian | WCA 2019 Template for winners – Portuguese | WCA 2019 Template for winners – Spanish

How the competition works

In October 2019, cheeses from six continents were staged in a huge arena at the Fiera di Bergamo in Bergamo, Italy. All entries were judged in a single day by carefully assembled teams of technical experts, buyers, retailers and food writers. Judges worked in teams of three, identifying any cheeses worthy of a gold, silver or bronze award. They looked at the rind and the body of the cheese, its colour, texture, consistency and, above all, its taste. Each of the teams then nominated one exceptional cheese as the Super Gold from their table. These top-flight cheeses are the best in the world and were then judged a second time by the Super Jury of 16 internationally-recognised experts, who each selected a cheese to champion in the final round of judging. The Super Jury, representing all four corners of the globe, then debated 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. As well as striving for Bronze, Silver, Gold and Super Gold, there were country and cheese specific trophies to award in 2019. Results from 2019 are available to download Results 2019 section above.

Historic Results

How to enter

Entry to World Cheese Awards 2019 is now closed. The following information is provided for reference only. Entry details for World Cheese Awards 2021 will be made available next year. Entry documents 2019 (for reference only) UK entry brochure | WCA 19 Classes | WCA19 Online Entry Guidance Notes | Terms & Conditions | Special Entry Information Sheet for Non-EU entries | WCA19 consolidation points French entry brochure | WCA 19 Classes French | Participez à la compétition Instructions en ligne | Terms & Conditions | Special Entry Information Sheet for Non-EU entries | WCA 19 Points de regroupement Greek entry brochure | WCA19 Classes Greek | WCA19 Online Entry Guidance Notes | Terms & Conditions | Special Entry Information Sheet for Non-EU entries | WCA19 consolidation points Italian entry brochure | WCA19 Classes Italian | Iscrizione online – Istruzioni | Terms & Conditions | Special Entry Information Sheet for Non-EU entries | WCA19 Punti di Consolidamento Portuguese entry brochure | WCA19 Classes Portuguese | Instruções online para as suas inscrições | Terms & Conditions | Special Entry Information Sheet for Non-EU countries | WCA19 Pontos de Consolidacao Spanish entry brochure | WCA19 Classes Spanish | Inscripción – Instrucciones en línea | Terms & Conditions | Special Entry Information Sheet for Non-EU countries | WCA19 Puntos de Consolidación Entrants: Please do not send any cheese until you have entered and been contacted with delivery instructions and labels. The next World Cheese Awards opens in August 2021 and delivery instructions will be sent in September/October 2021. All delivery instructions have been issued and are available from your MyGuild account.

WCA 2018 - Bergen

The 2018 edition of the World Cheese Awards was part of a brand new festival, Matnasjonen Norge, in partnership with HANEN, an organisation promoting the best that the Norwegian countryside has to offer. The largest ever World Cheese Awards took place at Bergen’s Grieghallen on 2 November 2018. 3,472 cheeses were judged by an international panel of 235 experts from 29 nations. Watch the finest palates and noses around judge every entry in one day, available now on WCA TV. See all the highlights in our WCA 2018 photo gallery. Judging day gallery

Highlights from the 2018 World Cheese Awards in Bergen, Norway
Patricia Michelson from La Fromagerie chats to Jason Hinds from Neal's Yard
Judges from Spain, Basque and the Canary Islands gather together
John Farrand, MD of the Guild of Fine Food, welcomes judges from 30 countries to Bergen
Jo Pickard and Nigel Barden presented WCA TV, which was transmitted live around the world throughout the day
Sam Wilkin, presenter of the Fine Food Podcast, gets ready for judging
78 teams tasted 3,472 cheeses
Cheeses came from 41 countries around the world
Judges worked in teams of three to identify Bronze, Silver, Gold and Super Gold award winners
Assessing each cheese by looking at its rind and body, its colour, texture, consistency and, most importantly, taste
A judging team, led by Kris Lloyd from Australia, inspecting one of the entries
The largest cheese only competition in the world, the WCA sees a huge range of styles entered each year
Falco Araujo from Brazil, Nevada Berg from Norway and Jason Hinds from Neal's Yard taste their entries
World Cheese Awards 2018
Bergen, Norway
A traditional Norwegian marching band started the official WCA opening ceremony
Guests and visitors gather for the official opening ceremony of the food festival Matnasjonen Norge
Bård Hoksrud, Norway's Minister of Agriculture and Food addresses the opening ceremony attendees
Julie Andersland, Commissioner of Climate, Cultural Affairs and Business Development in Bergen city welcomes visitors
Gill Meller from River Cottage and Val Rumbelow from LACTALIS Group taste an entry
Sam Frank from USA records the score for an entry
Tom Chatfield, Gunnar Nagell Dahl and Veronica Baetje judge their team's entries
Bill de la Hey from Scotland, Regula Ysewijn from Belgium and Sue Sturman from the USA
Norwegian food expert and author, Bodil Irene Nordjorde looks at a cheese with Daniel Williams
Suzy O'Regan from South Africa assesses an entry
Carlos Yescas from Mexico with an unusual egg-shaped cheese
José Pizarro fights for a cheese
Over 700 people watched the WCA final in the theatre at the Grieghallen
Bruno Cabral from Brazil
Patrick McGuigan, cheese journalist from the United Kingdom
Siri-Helen Hansen Barry from MENY, Norway
Roland Barthelemy from France
Jose Pizarro gives his comments
Victoria Urresti Garcia from Basque Country
John Farrand, the official scorekeeper during the final
World Champion 2018 winner: Fanaost from Ostegaarden

Welcome drinks at Roast, Scandic Ørnen

Judges’ dinner at Haakon’s Hall, Bergen