Best of British cheese celebrated in innovative virtual awards

The UK’s first Virtual Cheese Awards is set to take viewers behind the scenes and offer valuable insight into how the top cheeses are chosen. This year’s awards will see one cheese out of 300 be crowned the best in Britain, with a sneak peek into how they are tasted, rated and judged.

The day will feature a whole range of cheese-related events including live cheese judging, expert panels, cheese producer stories and Q&As on cheese, as well as masterclasses from British cheesemakers. There will also be a chance to buy a box of British cheese to sample at home.

The final will include the judging of seven classic cheese categories including Best Cheddar, Best Blue cheese, Best Territorial cheese and the best Artisan hard and soft cheeses. The top produce from all these categories will be crowned the Best British Cheese at 4pm on Saturday 18th July.

Food and drink broadcaster and all-round local food champion, Nigel Barden, will host the one-day event. He says, “It was an easy decision to be involved with the Virtual Cheese Awards. It’s an excellent opportunity to champion our cheese producers, many of whom have struggled during lockdown to get their cheeses to market, particularly with the closure of restaurants, pubs and hotels. These awards allow us to shine a light on their plight and to make the 18th July an interesting, informative and entertaining day.  It won’t just be about watching cheese being tasted, as there will also be videos from the cheese community and live panel debates. I can’t wait for the 18th July as we celebrate our fabulous British cheese community.”

Profits from the Virtual Cheese Awards will be donated to the Specialist Cheesemakers Association and the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI).

For tickets and more information head to virtualcheeseawards.com.