Swiss cheesemaker becomes four-time world champion

gourmino.ch

Michael Spycher from Fritzenhaus in Emmental has achieved what no cheesemaker before him ever has. At the most prestigious cheese competition in the world, the World Championship Cheese Contest in the US, he won the world championship title for the fourth time in March.

With his semi-hard Hornbacher cheese, Spycher came out on top against more than 3,000 different cheeses from all over the world. The man from Bern still can’t quite believe it himself: “No one has ever won the title twice before, and this is the fourth time I’ve been world champion. That’s a bit crazy.”

Spycher has been running his cheese dairy in the small hamlet of Fritzenhaus in the municipality of Sumiswald since 2001. Here, deep in the Emmental valley at the foot of the Napf at 800 metres above sea level, the farmers all still deliver the milk from the mountain meadows to the “Käsi” (cheesemaker) themselves.

‘Cows eat natural meadow with herbs’

For Spycher, this milk is part of his success. “The cows here practically only eat natural meadows with lots of herbs. This gives the cheese more flavour. Together with my experience as a cheesemaker and good maturation in the cellar, it makes a good product.” This overall package obviously convinced the international jury at the World Championship Cheese Contest in the American state of Wisconsin. The judges assessed flavour, consistency and appearance.

Michael Spycher has previously won the world championship title three times with a Gruyère.

He is doubly pleased that this time it is his own Hornbacher brand. Unlike Gruyère, he does not have to adhere to any quotas with this cheese – he can produce as much as he wants. According to numerous media reports in the US, demand has increased significantly. As a result, his Hornbacher cheese is now increasingly being exported.

The master cheesemaker’s success does not fall into his lap. He is in the cheese dairy seven days a week, working 70 to 80 hours a week. A lot of experience and a good “feel” for cheese production are crucial to ensure a good product, he says.

Sensation in the US

The world champion cheesemaker and his wife, Monika, flew to Wisconsin in mid-April to receive his award.

As he has won the title three times before and the American media reported widely on it, he was recognised and approached by complete strangers there. The landlord of one of the restaurants had bought him a round when he realised that the world champion cheesemaker had stopped by. And at the championships themselves, he was literally besieged by other master cheesemakers.

Even though the titles, the attention and the greater demand for his cheese honour him, Spycher does not want to rest on his laurels. “Cheese is a natural product. You have to give it your all every day. Even a small detail can be decisive as to whether the quality is still right or not,” he says, and goes back to work on the steaming cheese kettle, ready for the next step.

Translated from German by DeepL/ts