Swiss Cheese Awards winners announced

More than 1,100 Swiss cheeses on show in Lugano Keystone-SDA

The three best Swiss cheeses were chosen on Friday in Lugano from over 1,100 entries submitted to an international jury.

A record 1,127 cheeses were judged in 32 categories. The largest category was “Other semi-hard cheeses weighing less than three kilos without flavour additives”, with 193 entries. This was followed by “Other hard and extra-hard cheeses” (98), “Raclette cheeses with flavour additives” (79), “Raclettes and Bratkäse without flavour additives” (76) and “Gruyères” (69).

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The best cheese in each category was chosen first. Next, three Swiss champions were chosen from among them for extra-hard and hard, semi-hard, soft and fresh cheeses.

The winning trioExternal link included two cheeses from the French-speaking part of Switzerland: Le Brigand du Jorat from the Saint-Cierges cheese dairy and Vacherin Mont d’Or from the André SA cheese dairy in Romanel-sur-Morges, according to the Swiss Cheese Awards website. Gruyère from the Swiss-German cheese dairy Lanthen was the third winner.

They were judged by a panel of over 150 cheese and catering professionals, journalists and consumers from a dozen countries. Pre-selection took place in Bern at the end of September.

Precise criteria

The jury based its decision on the criteria of appearance, texture, taste and aroma, the latter counting double. Instead of texture, the raclettes were judged on the consistency of the melted form and on fat separation.

The Swiss Cheese Award final runs until Sunday, with a public cheese market as part of the Festa d’Autunno in Lugano. The next edition of the Swiss Cheese Awards is already scheduled for 2026. It will be held in Fribourg, a region renowned for its Gruyère and Vacherin cheeses.

Adapted from French by DeepL/ac

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