Carlow Cheese maker scoops two awards at National Irish Cheese Awards

County Carlow Farmhouse Cheesemaker, Coolattin Cheddar, scooped two honours last week at the 2024 Irish Cheese Awards during a prestigious ceremony hosted by CÁIS, the Association of Irish Farmhouse Cheesemakers, at Kilshane House in Co. Tipperary on Wednesday April 24th. The Tullow-based cheesemaker took home Gold and Silver awards.

The biennial celebration of Ireland’s farmhouse cheesemakers, now in its tenth year, named winners across seventeen distinct categories, culminating in naming one winner as this year’s ‘Supreme Champion’. This followed a rigorous judging process that was undertaken by a high calibre panel of Irish and international cheese experts at Teagasc’s Ashtown Food Research Centre last month.

Together, the thirteen judges tasted 175 different cheeses produced by forty-three businesses located across the island of Ireland; from Dart Mountain to Durrus, and Arklow to Aillwee Cave. Each cheese was individually scored on aroma, flavour, body, texture, and overall appearance in order to select this year’s worthy winners.

Co. Carlow’s Coolattin Cheddar Picks Up Gold & Silver Awards

Tullow-based Coolattin Cheddar’s ‘Mount Leinster Clothbound’ cheese took home a Gold having been named the winner of the ‘Mature Farmhouse Cheddar Aged Over 12 Months’ category. And, the farmhouse cheeemaker’s second win of the day came in the same category, where their ‘Coolattin Mature’ cheese picked up a Silver award.

Having been producing top quality milk from his pasture fed cows for twenty years, farmer, Tom Burgess, decided to develop a product which reflected this quality. So, in 2003 he founded Coolattin Cheddar in Knockeen near Tullow and started producing mature raw-milk Cheddars.

The milk used to make their two award-winning cheeses is special for a number of reasons. They process in the summer months only, when their cows are grazing on fresh clover-rich pasture - the ideal diet for cheese processing milk. And, they specifically use early morning milk, which is high in melatonin, and aids relaxation and sleep. Rather than being stored or pasteurised, it is pumped directly to the cheese vat, meaning that their traditional cheesemaking process preserves all of the natural goodness and flavour present in the milk.

After adding beneficial lacto-bacilli and rennet to the milk, the resulting curd is all cut, scalded, cheddared, milled, salted, and mixed by hand. The next step in the process is to place the cheeses into 40b moulds and press them for two days.

The cheeses are then matured for twelve months at 10°C. During this time the unique combination of enzymes and proteins present in the cheese interact with one another to create cheddars that are full of flavour, delivering a taste on the tongue that develops slowly from sweet fruit through to full nutty notes.

Both of Coolattin Cheddar’s award-winning cheeses are available to purchase online via their website, www.coolattin cheddar.ie, and from leading retailers and independent food stores throughout the island of Ireland.

Speaking about how the Irish Cheese Awards positively affect the long-term future and success of Irish Farmhouse Cheesemaking, and the impact it has on individual artisan producers, Chair of CÁIS, Tom Dineen of Bó Rua Farm, said: “Celebrating excellence at the Irish Cheese Awards not only honours our rich heritage, but also propels us towards a vibrant future. By acknowledging and commending the dedication of individual cheesemakers, these awards ignite innovation, enhance standards, and nurture a thriving community of Irish cheesemakers. Together, we are forging a legacy of quality and sustainability, securing the lasting success of Irish farmhouse cheesemaking for generations to come.”

The full list of this year’s winners covering all Gold, Silver, and Bronze Awards is available to view online via the CÁIS website, www.irishcheese.ie.