Punching above your weight at Royal cheese competition

Fuoco, the exquisite soft washed rind cheese that Jason Fuoco makes with the rich milk from his herd of 60 water buffalo in the Lanaudière region of Québec, was crowned Grand Champion in Goat, Sheep, Water Buffalo and Mixed Milk Cheese.

Cindy Hope, who creates lovely goat’s milk cheese on the farm she and her husband, Kevin, run near Peterborough, Ontario, won two first-place ribbons with her signature Artisan Chèvres and another first with Maggie Smoked Gouda.

Jason started making cheese in 2012, Cindy a few years earlier.

Learn more here:

• Fromagerie Fuoco

• Cross Wind Farm

Perennial winner Margaret Morris and her team at Glengarry Fine Cheese of Lancaster, Ontario, brought home three first-place awards while Balderson Cheese of Winchester, Ontario, making cheddar since 1881, pretty well swept the cheddar category.

Miranda, made by Fritz Kaiser of Fromagerie Fritz Kaiser, one of the earliest pioneers of artisan cheese in Québec and, indeed, Canada, was named Grand Champion among all cow-milk cheeses.

Here are all winners in the 2021 competition at The Royal:

COW MILK

Grand Champion

Miranda, Fromagerie Fritz Kaiser, Noyan, Quebec, Cheesemaker Fritz Kaiser

Firm and Hard, Surface Ripened, Natural or Brushed Rind

Miranda, Fromagerie Fritz Kaiser, Noyan, Quebec, Cheesemaker Fritz Kaiser

Fresh Unripened Cheese, Natural

St. John’s Fresh Cheese, Portuguese Cheese Co., Toronto, Cheesemaker Jaime Ortiz

Fresh Pasta Filata

Bella Casara Burrata, Quality Cheese, Vaughan, Ontario

Cheese with Grilling Properties, Natural or Flavoured

Braséo, Fromagerie La Vache à Maillotte, La Sarre, Québec, Cheesemaker Éric Beauchamps

Soft Cheese, Mixed or Washed Rind

Figaro, Glengarry Fine Cheese, Lancaster, Ontario, Cheesemakers Margaret Morris, Billy McDonell, Connie De Melo

Semi-Soft, Interior Ripened

Mild Gouda, That Dutchman’s Cheese Farm, Economy, Nova Scotia

Semi-Soft, Surface Ripened

Fleur-en-Lait, Glengarry Fine Cheese, Lancaster, Ontario, Cheesemakers Margaret Morris, Billy McDonell, Connie De Melo

Firm and Hard, Interior Ripened

Gouda 2-Year, Mountainoak Cheese, New Hamburg, Ontario, Cheesemaker Adam Van Bergeijk

Feta or Feta Style

Light Feta, Krinos Foods Canada Ltd., Vaughan, Ontario, Cheesemaker Emmanouil Georgantelis

Blue Cheese

Celtic Blue Reserve, Glengarry Fine Cheese, Lancaster, Ontario, Cheesemakers Margaret Morris, Billy McDonell, Connie De Melo

Flavoured Cheese (except smoked)

Wild Nettle, Mountainoak Cheese, New Hamburg, Ontario, Cheesemaker Adam Van Bergeijk

Flavoured Cheese, Naturally Smoked

Bleu Fumé, Fromagerie Abbaye Saint-Benoît-du-Lac, Saint-Benoît-du-Lac, Québec

GOAT, SHEEP, WATER BUFFALO & MIXED MILK

Grand Champion

Fuoco, Fromagerie Fuoco, St. Lin Laurentides, Québec, Cheesemaker Jason Fuoco

Surface Ripened

Fuoco, Fromagerie Fuoco, St. Lin Laurentides, Québec, Cheesemaker Jason Fuoco

Fresh Unripened Cheese, Natural

Artisan Chèvre Original, Cross Wind Farm, Keene, Ontario, Cheesemaker Cindy Hope

Fresh Unripened Cheese, Flavoured

Artisan Chèvre Cranberry Orange, Cross Wind Farm, Keene, Ontario, Cheesemaker Cindy Hope

Interior Ripened

Le Moutier, Fromagerie Abbaye Saint-Benoît-du-Lac, Saint-Benoît-du-Lac, Québec

Flavoured Cheese

Maggie Smoked Gouda, Cross Wind Farm, Keene, Ontario, Cheesemaker Cindy Hope

CHEDDAR

Grand Champion Cheddar, Ontario Champion Cheddar, Silver Trier Award – Highest Aggregate Score

Balderson Medium Cheddar, Lactalis Canada, Chesterville, Ontario

Medium Cheddar, 4 to 9 months

Balderson Medium Cheddar, Lactalis Canada, Chesterville, Ontario

Mild Cheddar, up to 3 months

Balderson Mild Cheddar, Lactalis Canada, Chesterville, Ontario

Old/Extra Old Cheddar, 9 to 24 months

Balderson Extra Old Cheddar, Lactalis Canada, Chesterville, Ontario

Aged Cheddar, 2 years and older

Maple Dale 3-Year Cheddar, Maple Dale Cheese, Trenton, Ontario, Cheesemaker Cory Armstrong

BUTTER

Grand Champion

Lactantia Cultured Salted Butter, Lactalis Canada, Chesterville, Ontario

Cultured, salted or unsalted

Lactantia Cultured Salted Butter, Lactalis Canada, Chesterville, Ontario

Grass Fed or Organic, Unsalted

Temiskaming Valley Gras Fed Unsalted Butter, Thornloe Cheese, Thornloe, Ontario

Grass Fed or Organic, Salted

Gay Lea Grass-Fed Salted Butter, Gay Lea Foods Cooperative, Mississauga, ON

For complete results, visit 2021 Canadian Cheese & Butter Competition at The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair.