A Devon cheesemaker has officially won the public’s heart at the first-ever Great British & Irish Cheddar Challenge. Quicke’s, based in Newton St Cyres near Exeter, landed the People’s Choice Award with its Extra Mature Clothbound Cheddar, having received the most votes during a live poll.
Streamed from Bra in Italy on Saturday, September 16, during the fourteenth edition of Slow Food’s Cheese Festival, the Cheddar Challenge saw cheese lovers, cheesemakers, cheesemongers and commentators come together for a celebration of artisan cheddar.
The event, founded and hosted by cheesemonger James Grant alongside comedian and ‘curd nerd’ Marcus Brigstocke, invited people to tune in for a live tutored tasting, having purchased special tasting boxes of six artisan cheddars from cheesemongers across the UK.
Taking viewers on a journey through soil health, pastures, cows, milk, cheesemaking, maturation and much more, the Cheddar Challenge then invited participants to vote for the nation’s favourite cheddar.
Following the online vote, Quicke’s Extra Mature Clothbound Cheddar, made by Mary Quicke who is the fourteenth generation of her family to tend the pastures at Home Farm, topped the illustrious list.
“I’m so excited to win the Great British & Irish Cheddar Challenge, amongst so many wonderful cheddars,” she said. “I’m so proud of our cows that make the lovely milk and our team that produce and mature the cheese that so many people voted for. Thank you!”
Other contenders included Hafod, made by the Holden family in Ceredigion, Wales; Isle of Mull, made by Brendan Reade near Tobermory on the Isle of Mull, Scotland; Montgomery’s Cheddar, made by Jamie Montgomery in North Cadbury, Somerset; Mount Leinster, made by Tom Burgess in West Wicklow, Ireland; and Pitchfork Cheddar, made by the Trethowan Brothers in North Somerset.
Mr Grant, owner of No2 Pound Street in Buckinghamshire, said: “It was truly special to bring some of the UK and Ireland’s greatest cheddar makers together and to share this with cheese lovers everywhere.
"The event offered a wonderful insight into what makes traditional artisan cheddar so amazing, from the work that’s being done to regenerate the soil and nurture the land, right through to producing exceptional artisan cheddar, with all of its nuanced flavours, varied textures and the joy that these bring.
“I’d like to say an enormous thank you to everyone involved and it was an honour to stream the Cheddar Challenge live from Slow Food’s prestigious Cheese Festival in Bra. Well done to everyone at Quicke’s, although I hope artisan cheddar will be our biggest winner.”
The Great British & Irish Cheddar Challenge featured cheese experts including Charlie Turnbull, a director and patron of The Academy of Cheese; Emma Young, a cheese specialist, consultant and author; Patrick McGuigan, cheese author, journalist, educator and judge; Sarah De Wit, founder of the Virtual Cheese Awards; Abigail Pitcher from Chiswick Cheese Market; Jonathan Pearcey of The Crafty Cheese Man, a wholesale artisan cheese supplier; Dhruv Baker, charcutier and MasterChef winner; and Lauren Collier AKA yourcheeseconcierge, a cheese specialist from Tampa, Florida.
