TEN years after Brexit, the British and Irish Cheese Awards, which take place at the Bath & West Food and Drink Festival, over the weekend 20th to 22nd March, have received a record number of Irish entries, with 48 Irish cheeses to be judged in a field of more than 600 entries.
The cheese award judging takes place on Friday 20th March, and the results and cheeses are on show during the food and drink festival on the Saturday and Sunday.
Highlighting a growing renaissance for Irish cheese in the UK, the record entry comes a decade after the Brexit referendum, which led to many Irish cheeses disappearing from British cheese counters.
As a central focus of the cheese awards’ 30th anniversary this year, the Royal Bath & West Society has worked alongside CÁIS (the Association of Irish Farmhouse Cheesemakers), Bord Bia (the Irish Food Board) and the Specialist Cheesemakers Association in the UK to improve logistics around entry consolidation and transport.
As part of a wider drive to establish more reliable trade routes for Irish cheese, the initiative aims to reintroduce a plethora of Irish cheeses back into British retailers, while also working to reconnect two cheese cultures with shared traditions and history.
Obstacles to free trade following Brexit, including increased bureaucracy and heightened biosecurity rules, led to a gradual distancing between the cheesemaking communities of Britain and Ireland, but with trade networks finally improving and ties gradually being re-established, this year’s awards will provide a major showcase for Irish cheese in the UK.
Tim Rowcliffe, vice-chairman of the British & Irish Cheese Awards and ambassador to Ireland for the Specialist Cheesemakers Association, says: “It’s shocking to think that a decade has passed since Irish cheese began losing its presence in the UK, but I’m really excited by the progress we’ve made in putting this right.
“It’s been a huge team effort to overcome the complex bureaucratic hurdles and rekindle our once strong ties with Irish cheese. The number of Irish entries into this year’s competition are not only a reflection of our progress, but also the renewed confidence and enthusiasm for the project among Irish cheesemakers.”
Estelle Alley, UK Market Specialist at Bord Bia, added: “As Ireland’s farmhouse cheese category continues to go from strength to strength and UK trade interest rises year after year, Bord Bia plays a central role in fostering long-term partnerships by connecting British buyers with the latest innovations and distinctive flavours from Ireland’s dynamic community of farmhouse cheesemakers.”
One of Ireland’s most famous cheese-makers, Sarah Furno, owner of Cashel Farmhouse Cheesemakers and CÁIS committee member, says: “British and Irish specialty cheesemaking shares cultural DNA. Creating opportunities to bring together cheese cousins from across the Irish Sea is a powerful dynamic, CÁIS, The Association of Irish Farmhouse Cheesemakers is very excited by the new energy in this long-standing relationship.”