Written by Staff Writer
This article was originally published in January 2018.
French cheese lovers, rejoice: The National Cheese Board in Paris has announced the list of “World’s Best Cheese” for 2021.
This may not include a new award-winning hand-crumbled mozzarella, as the prestigious “What to Order at a Cheese Course” award was discontinued in 2014 , but some of the award-winning cheeses will be taking home the top prize.
Six cheese categories were nominated from across seven countries: Great Britain, United States, France, Italy, Spain, Austria and Switzerland.
A panel of expert judges from each country were tasked with analyzing a range of nominations. The six final cheeses selected from the nominees will form part of an exhibition at the British Cheese Festival later this year.
“We take into account which cheeses are actually sold in the market, things like the age of the cheese, especially if it’s the best cheese in Europe. It’s really about the national representative of cheese being proud of it,” Jean-Yves Rossier, the founding cheesemonger for the prestigious Cheese Board of France, told CNN.
1 / 12 – Melt brie burrata nog fra Vin de Baileghaud Alexandre Bouma, Paris, France.
The names of the finalists for the award are as follows:
Winner
Mixton Bois d’Achille, France, f/c 2014
Second
Asteroide Brutivo Ligure, Italy, c/o 2015
Third
Menton Farmhouse Carmendy Crumbed Cranberry & Red Pepper Brie (Belgium, c/o 2015), Jean-Yves Rossier (founder, National Cheese Board of France).
Fourth
Ardostante Arbeixois Cheddar (Italy, c/o 2011), John Baldi (founder, National Cheese Board of Italy).
Fifth
Heston Symington white cow’s-milk cheese (United Kingdom, c/o 2015), Estelle Heston (founder, National Cheese Board of United Kingdom).
Sixth
Le Plaisir Blue Mococotte (United Kingdom, c/o 2017), John Baldi (founder, National Cheese Board of United Kingdom).
Seventh
Anne Marie Despins bitter cream/gruyere, France, c/o 2011.