Champions are crowned after judges chomp through hundreds of the nation's best cheeses

The team at Cropwell Bishop Creamery scooped the coveted Best Stilton award for their Blue Stilton at the presentation evening for the event, at Melton Mowbray’s St Mary’s Church on Saturday evening.

There were a record breaking 643 entries from British and Irish producers for what was the 10th edition of the awards supper.

And it was cheesemakers from Killeen Farmhouse Cheese, in County Galway, Ireland, who were cheering at the end of the evening when its gouda-style Extra Mature Goat’s Cheese was named Supreme Champion.

Made by Dutch-born Marion Roeleveld, one of the most distinguished cheesemakers in Ireland, the winning cheese was originally based on a traditional gouda recipe.

It is made with pasteurised goat’s milk and animal rennet, and aged for between 12 and 18-plus months.

Marion’s partner, Haske, founded the 50-acre goat farm in Portumna, County Galway in 1990, and the couple started making their first cheeses in 2004.

Over the past two decades, Killeen has gone onto become one of the most highly decorated cheesemakers in Ireland, and are now making cheese from the milk of all 200 goats on the farm.

Organiser of the awards, Dr Matthew O’Callaghan OBE, who is also an international cheese judge, commented: “In over 70 years of eating cheese that has to be one of the most memorable cheeses I have ever tasted.

"It is certainly the best goat’s cheese in the UK and Ireland. When cut it is brilliant white inside. The texture is a hard, slightly crunchy feel in the mouth. Taste is clean, slightly sweet, nutty, very pleasant and extremely moreish.”

Reserve Champion this was Raedwald, produced by Suffolk-based Fen Farm Dairy.

And Best Young Cheesemaker was Jake Goldstein, who works at Primrose Creamery, of Worksop.

The Clarke family which has been farming Leicestershire countryside won the Best Blue class for their Sparkenhoe Shropshire Blue, which was produced by their Leicestershire Handmade Cheese Company.

Around the UK, the Best British Cheese trophy went to St Jude, from St Jude Cheese in Norfolk, the Best English Cheese was awarded to Lucky Marcel, from Feltham’s Farm in Somerset, the Best Scottish Cheese went to Elrick Log from Errington Cheese in Lanarkshire, Best Welsh Cheese was presented to Caws Teifi Cheese in Ceredigion, for its Teifi Heritage.

The Best Irish Cheese trophy was awarded to Templegall, from Hegarty’s Cheddar in County Cork, as the highest scoring Irish cheese below this year’s Supreme Champion.

The Artisan Cheese Awards Dinner took place during the 15th Artisan Cheese Fair, held last weekend at the Stockyard in Melton Mowbray, Britain’s largest cheese festival.

Judging for the Artisan Cheese Awards was conducted a week earlier on Thursday May 14, when an 80-strong team of judges, made up of major cheese buyers, cheesemongers, experts and commentators, assessed this year’s entries at St Mary’s Church.

Each Class was judged during the morning session, when Gold, Silver and Bronze accolades were awarded. Class winners went through to the final judging round to decide this year’s Supreme Champion and Reserve Champion cheeses.