Clawson cheesemakers celebrate success at global awards event
Cheesemakers at Long Clawson are celebrating winning big at the prestigious World Cheese Awards.
Clawson Farms, formerly known at Long Clawson Dairy, claimed a coveted Super Gold Award and Best British Cheese accolade for its Aged Rutland Red at the global event in Switzerland.
It is crafted from pasteurised cow’s milk, then hand-buttered, clothbound and matured for up to 12 months to give a sweet and caramelised flavour and greatly impressed an international panel of judges.
The village dairy also secured Silver Awards for two of its iconic cheeses – Shropshire Blue and 1912 Stilton, which was also the highest ranking Stilton in its category.
Both of these cheeses are renowned for their rich flavour profiles and artisanal quality, with the 1912 named after the year the dairy first started making cheese.
This year’s awards attracted over 5,200 cheeses from 46 nations with each entry subject to a rigorous testing process involving hundreds of judges, including technical experts, buyers, retailers and food writers from every corner of the global cheese community, sniffing, tasting and visually inspecting every cheese over the course of a single day to find the best of the best.
Bill Mathieson, managing director of Clawson Farms, commented: “Winning both Super Gold and Best British Cheese for our Aged Rutland Red is an incredible honour.
“These awards reflect the dedication of our team and the passion we put into every wheel of cheese, and celebrates our 90 years of artisan cheese-making.
"We’re thrilled to share this recognition with our loyal customers and cheese lovers worldwide.”
The judges worked in teams to identify any cheeses worthy of a Gold, Silver or Bronze award, with each team then selecting one exceptional cheese to put forward as the Super Gold from their table.
These Super Gold cheeses, considered the best in the world, were then judged a second time by the Super Jury of 14 internationally recognised experts, who each selected a cheese to champion in the final round of judging.
Clawson Farms’ Super Gold success highlights its commitment to traditional methods, sustainable farming and flavour innovation.
The dairy, which is one of only four dairies globally authorised to produce Stilton, thanks to its Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status, is a farmer-owned cooperative of 31 milk producers located within a 30-mile radius of Leicestershire.