Stellar success for Fonterra cheeses on world stage
At the International Cheese Awards in the UK recently, Fonterra cheeses and a butter scooped up 12 gold, silver and bronze medals, plus Kapiti Creamy Havati took out the trophy for best New Zealand cheese.
It’s official – we make some of the world’s best cheese at Fonterra. For cheese lovers around the world, the prestigious annual International Cheese Awards is a very big deal. Cheesemakers from more than 50 countries vie for top honours. This year, the competition attracted over 5,600 entries in categories that ranged from traditional farmhouse to speciality Scandinavian cheeses.
Casey Thomas, who oversees Fonterra NZMP Dairy Foods category, says it was an outstanding achievement to have so many Fonterra cheeses achieve recognition on the world stage.
These results are really something special for everyone involved – from the sites where the cheeses are made to the teams who market and sell them. Credit also belongs to Fonterra farmers, whose top-quality, grass-fed milk allows us to make top-quality cheeses and butter.
Iain O’Donnell from Fonterra’s Lichfield site, whose team makes two of the award-winning cheeses, said it was a great honour to be recognised with a Gold and a Silver for their cheeses.
“To be able to make quality cheese on a large scale of up to 200 metric tonnes per day and be able to pick up a block and win gold is a great testament to the skills of our cheesemakers and our commitment to producing the best quality cheese we can – every day.”
Cheeses made at Eltham and Hautapu, butter from the Te Awamutu site and cheeses made at Fonterra’s Wynyard and Stanhope sites in Australia were also recognised for their quality and presentation.