Belvoir cheesemakers cream it in awards
Two Vale of Belvoir cheesemakers are creaming it with awards and recognition.
Magda Koniecko (pictured) from Shirevale in Cropwell Bishop has scooped the gold medal in the novice cheesemakers class for her White Stilton at the International Cheese and dairy Awards 2018 held in Nantwich, Cheshire.
Magda has worked at Shirevale for a year and the class is reserved for new cheesemakers with less than five years in the industry.
Shirevale is the only dedicated white stilton making facility in the world and makes five tonnes of cheese a week.
The international cheese awards attracted 5,182 entries making it the largest cheese show in the world.
The 104-year-old Colton Basset Dairy nearby is celebrating multiple success, with its Shropshire Blue achieving the most coveted rating of three Great Taste stars. The co-operative’s dairy Stilton achieved one star.
The recognition came in the annual ‘Oscars’ of the food industry organised by the Guild of Fine Food. Over 65 days between March and July, every year, more than 500 experts blind taste 12,634 entrants. On average just one percent of entrants receive the highest rating of three stars, confirming Colton Basset Dairy as one of the top UK food producers.
Dairy manager Billy Kevan said: “To have received three stars at this prestigious level is a brilliant achievement and well-deserved recognition of our cheesemaker’s talents. The stars endorse our long-standing reputation around the world by highlighting quality and taste to consumers.”