This year’s New Zealand Champions of Cheese Awards recognise long-held favourites as well as newcomers among its 29
trophy recipients.
The trophies were awarded at a Gala Awards Dinner at the Atrium in Hamilton last night (Thursday 30 June 2022) and
followed judging of more than 380 cheeses from across Aotearoa at Wintec in late February. Master Judge Jason Tarrant
led a panel of 36 judges to assess the cheeses.
The four Supreme Champions are:
Open Country Dairy Ltd, Open Country Young Cheddar (Aged less than 6 months); Countdown Champion of Champion Cheese Award – Commercial. Open Country is New Zealand's second largest dairy
manufacturer. The company specialises in producing dry salt cheddar style cheeses from fresh New Zealand milk and
exports throughout the world. One of judges on the senior panel who assessed this award, Ross McCallum said “A superb cheese! An excellent example of a young cheddar with balanced flavour and body. It’s pleasing to see cheese of
this quality from a large producer.”
Little River Estate, Little River Mt Richmond; New World Champion of Champion Cheese Award - Mid-sized. Little River Estate cheese is made in a dedicated factory on
Neudorf Rd, Upper Moutere using Oaklands whole A2 milk. Little River does not use preservatives, fillers, thickeners,
stabilizers, sweeteners or other unnecessary additives in any of their products. All products are hand-made using
traditional methods with no compromise. Master Judge Jason Tarrant noted Little River Estate, Little River Mt Richmond;
is “A very near perfect cheese scoring a consistent 99/100 across the judging panel. Superb.” Last year when Little River Estate, Little River Mt Richmond was called Little River Estate Aged Swiss it was also a
Trophy winner, when it was named NZSCA Champion European Style Cheese Award 2021.
Craggy Range Sheep Dairy, Maraetotara Manchego; Puhoi Valley Cheese Champion of Champions Cheese Award – Boutique. James and Kate Clairmont of Craggy Range Sheep Dairy
at Tuki Tuki Valley out of Napier follow pasture-fed, ethical farming practices to create sheep milk products. This
Spanish-style NZ Manchego sheep cheese is made at Hōhepa Hawke’s Bay and aged at least 12 months to develop its balanced
flavour. Master Judge Jason Tarrant said “For a boutique producer to deliver such a high quality cheese shows our small scale industry is in great hands.”
Cathy Lang, Fonterra Co-operative Group; MilkTestNZ Champion Cheesemaker. Cathy, who has been a cheesemaker since 2005, is Lead Cheesemaker at Fonterra’s Bridge
Street site in Eltham, Taranaki. Cathy is fascinated by cheesemaking which she describes as the perfect blend of science
and creativity. Master Judge Jason Tarrant said; “Three fantastic cheeses showing the diverse skill of the Cheesemaker. Cathy (and her team) have produced three
world-class cheeses that are still uniquely Kapiti. The Kahurangi Blue especially takes me back to a place in New
Zealand where blue cheese history was once and continues to be made. Congratulations!”
For the first time The NZ Champions of Cheese Awards included the Countdown Sustainability Trophy, for the cheese
company showing an outstanding commitment to all elements of sustainability. The inaugural Countdown Sustainability Trophy was awarded to Hōhepa Hawkes Bay. The Hōhepa Homes Trust was founded 65 years ago to provide intellectually disabled people with opportunities and now
employs 180 people. Presenting the sustainability award the judges noted that not only did Hōhepa Hawke’s Bay have a
positive impact on the environment by reducing emissions by downsizing its petrol and diesel fleet and moving to an
electric quad bike they are having a positive impact on people through work with the disability community and support
providing training, education and livelihood. Hōhepa Hawkes Bay won six medals in this year’s NZ Champions of Cheese
Awards
For the third year the Rutherford & Meyer Chef’s Choice was awarded. Chefs Mat Mclean of Palate Restaurant and Andrew Clarke, Chef du Cuisine at Hamilton
caterers Kerr & Ladbrook tasted around 30 cheeses assessing them for flavour and suitably and uses in cooking. Rutherford & Meyer Chefs’ Choice Trophy winner 2022 is Mount Eliza Cheese, Blue Monkey. Made by Chris and Jill Whalley at Mount Eliza Cheese, Kati Kati, Bay of Plenty this blue cheese is crafted from pasteurised
cow's milk and vegetarian rennet.
The NZ Champions of Cheese Awards were announced under the cloud of a potential loss of cheese names, due to Free Trade
Agreement negotiations between the European Union and New Zealand. The annual awards are organised by the New Zealand
Specialist Cheesemakers Association (NZSCA) with chair Catherine McNamara saying local cheesemakers are worried about
their future.
“We’re in danger of having the names of cheeses, including NZ Champion of Cheese trophy-winners such as; Feta, Gruyere
and Gorgonzola taken away from them. Halloumi and Havarti are also likely to be lost in the future if the European Union
is successful with its negotiations.”
She says the NZSCA believe these are generic names that are used to describe the style of the cheese. “Most New Zealand
cheesemakers see losing their cheese names as anti-competitive behaviour by the EU, as it doesn’t recognise the amount
of work New Zealand cheesemakers have put into educating consumers and growing sales of these products.”