ENTRY OPEN FOR THE 20TH NZ CHAMPIONS OF CHEESE AWARDS

Thursday 15 December 2022. Entry is open for the 2023 NZ Champions of Cheese Awards, which will celebrate 20 years recognising and promoting NZ Cheese next year.

The 2023 NZ Champions of Cheese Awards will be judged at Wintec Te Pūkenga, Rotokauri Campus on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 March 2023. Medal winners will be named on Tuesday 28 March 2023 with Champions announced at the NZ Champions of Cheese Awards Gala Dinner – celebrating 20 years - in Hamilton on Thursday 4 May 2023.

Calling for entries for 2023, Chair of the New Zealand Specialist Cheesemakers Association (NZSCA) Simon Lamb said, “celebrating 20 years of the NZ Champions of Cheese Awards is a wonderful milestone.”

While Kiwis’ palates have evolved over the past two decades and we are more adventurous with flavour, many things remain the same. The inaugural 2004 NZ Champions of Cheese Champion of Champions Supreme Award was Mainland Ferndale Raclette. Twenty years on, Mainland remains a staple of the local cheese industry. However, it’s been joined by a number of boutique cheesemakers specialising in crafting artisan cheese from goat, buffalo, sheep and deer milk as well as the widely used cow milk.”

The NZ Champions of Cheese has evolved over time and reflects our changing industry. For example last year we added the Countdown Sustainability Award to encourage the industry to continue to find new opportunities for ethical and sustainable business.

Simon Lamb is encouraging all NZ cheesemakers, whether they are members of the Association or not, to enter this special anniversary of the NZ Champions of Cheese Awards.

Master Judge, Jason Tarrant will again preside over the panel of 30 judges. Over the past couple of months Jason has hosted a judges’ training session and another will be held before the Awards judging . “The NZSCA is working on building the skills of judges to ensure we have talented, well-trained judges who recognise the attributes of great NZ cheese. Additionally, we want increase our pool of judging talent by training the next generation to assess NZ cheese with confidence and skill.”

In 2022 the NZ Champions of Cheese judged more than 380 cheeses, awarding 254 medals - 76 Gold Medals, 120 Silver Medals and 58 Bronze Medals.

Entry is open at www.nzsca.org.nz until Monday 20 February 2023. Judging of the 20th NZ Champions of Cheese Awards will be held at Wintec Rotokauri Campus in the first weekend of March. Medal winners will be named on Tuesday 28 March 2023 with Champions announced at the NZ Champions of Cheese Awards Gala Dinner – celebrating 20 years - in Hamilton on Thursday 4 May 2023.

The NZ Champions of Cheese 2023 Trophies are: