During the World Championship Cheese Contest, Beemster cheese won gold and finished with two of its cheeses in the overall top 20. On 3 March, the world's most important technical cheese competition was held in Wisconsin.

Best of Class
Beemster cheese competed for the title of 'Best Cheese in the World' in 13 categories out of a total of 143 classes. The Beemster Royaal Grand Cru was awarded the title 'Best of Class' in the 'open class of hard cheeses' with 99.875 out of 100 points, and in the same class, Beemster 30+ Oud took third place. Cheeses from cheese producers all over the world were entered in both classes. In the class 'Gouda young 4-10 months', Beemster Royaal took first place with 99.65 out of 100 points and was also awarded 'Best of Class'. In addition, both the Beemster Royaal and the Beemster Royaal Grand Cru finished in the overall top 20.

Proud
"We do everything to make the tastiest cheese in which quality, animal welfare and sustainability are paramount. In this way, we make cheese of the highest quality in a traditional way, each with its own unique flavour and tenderness. These awards are an enormous recognition for our way of working and I am very proud of that. Our farmers and cows supply milk of the highest quality, our cheese makers turn it into the tastiest cheese", says Wim Betten, general manager of CONO Cheese Makers.

Oldest and most prestigious cheese contest in the world
The World Championship Cheese Contest has been held biannually since 1957 by the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association. This year, there were over 3500 entries from all over the world. The contest is the oldest and most prestigious in the world. Entries are judged by a team of skilled technical judges from around the world. Starting from a maximum of 100 points, points are deducted for various defects found by each judge. Flaws are noted in the areas of taste, body and texture, salt, colour, finish. A gold medal, silver medal and bronze medal are awarded to the three highest scoring entries in each class.