‘Exciting’ Landford cheesemakers wins prestigious Best British Cheese award

The highly coveted prize was taken by Stoney Cross, which is a semi-hard, pasteurised cow’s milk cheese which is made with vegetarian rennet and matured for eight weeks.

The winning cheese, Stoney Cross, tastes like a French cheese but has a mushroomy hint and is very musty but delicate and sweet.

Production manager at Lyburn Cheese, Mike Smales, said: “The cheese we were known for is called Old Winchester, which is an 18-month matured cheese.

“But we needed something that turned the cash over quicker, so we ‘fiddled around’ for a year or two. Then after 14 years of fine-tuning, we came up with Stoney Cross.”

Organised by the Guild of Fine Food, the World Cheese Awards is the world’s largest cheese-only event of its kind. 4,786 cheeses from 47 countries were entered into this, the 36th iteration of the competition.  

On the main judging day, which took place at the Pavilhão Multiusos de Viseu, in Portugal on Friday, November 15, a total of 240 judges from 39 countries were split into 104 teams to undertake the mammoth task of determining which entries were worthy of accreditation.

The panel was made up of experts with a broad spectrum of disciplines from across the industry, including technologists, graders, buyers, chefs, producers, retailers, industry professionals, journalists, and influencers. 

The cheeses were meticulously evaluated on factors such as the appearance of the rind and paste, aroma, body, texture, and most notably, flavour and mouthfeel.

Lyburn Cheese wins Best British Cheese (Image: Guild of Fine Food) John Farrand, managing director of the Guild of Fine Food, said: “We had an incredibly positive judging day, dedicated to the UK cheese entries.

“It’s not just the overall standard of British cheese that is impressive, it’s the innovation, and the often maverick cheesemaking that makes our cheese scene so exciting at home. Consistency plays a part too and that is illustrated by the fact that Lyburn was awarded the Best British Cheese only a few months after grabbing a Golden Fork in Great Taste.”

Lyburn Farm and Lyburn Cheese is a family-run business and Mike’s dad started cheese farming in 1972. Now after 54 years, they produce 70-80 tonnes of cheese a year.

Mike’s eldest son, Jono Smales, now runs the farm while he focuses on production and cheese deliveries to local shops, farm shops and small businesses. Lyburn Cheese also provides cheese for the counter at Waitrose stores across the country as well as for P&O Cruises.

When asked about their plans for new cheeses, Mike Smales said: “Absolutely none! The minute you start to do too much, you lose what you’ve got.

“So we are going to focus on our award-winning cheeses.”

Stoney Cross was also named Best Specialist Cheesemakers Association Member Cheese, sponsored by the Specialist Cheesemakers Association.