Needless to say, cheese awards are a very interesting and exciting event for cheese enthusiasts! The ‘Canadian Cheese Awards – Le Concours des Fromages fins Canadiens’ takes place every second year and is open to Canadian  federal and provincial licenced cheese producers. Pure milk of Canadian cows, goats, sheep, and water buffalo must be used, with no use of artificial colours, flavors, or preservatives and no modified milk ingredients.

This year, the competition took place on April 14th in Montreal where the announcement of winners was followed by an Awards Tasting Gala open to trade and media, and then to the public.

There are 17 main categories in which cheese is entered and judged. These include: bloomy rind, washed rind, mixed rind, aged cheddar, blue,.. etc.. Each cheese entered in these groups is also eligible for nine special awards such as: best cow, or goat,.. etc., as well as respective category of best raw milk, best new, ..etc. All cheeses are then automatically eligible for the appropriate regional award (B.C., West, Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic). To top the event, the choice of “Grand Champion” is the much anticipated highlight

… a few of the winners for 2016 are….

• BLOOMY RIND   –  Le Sabot de Blanchette, Quebec
• MIXED RIND        –  Zoey, Ontario
• OLD CHEDDAR    –  Lindsay Bandaged Goat, Ontario
• BLUE                      –  Dragons Breath Blue, Nova Scotia

GRAND CHAMPION – CANADIAN CHEESE OF THE YEAR:

Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar, Prince Edward Island

La Jolie Cheese Shop congratulates all the winners and applauds the recognition of the excellence of Canadian cheese on the national and international stage. We are excited, too, in welcoming you to drop by the shop and taste from our selection of award winners!