The winningest cheesemaker in Québec: Jean Morin of Fromagerie du Presbytere.
In the 19 years that Sélection Caseus, the Québec cheese competition, has been held, no one single cheesemaker has dominated the judging the way Jean Morin of Fromagerie du Presbytère did this year.
The indefatigable Morin, in collaboration with Marie-Chantal Houde of Fromagerie Nouvelle France, was awarded the prestigious Caseus Or prize for Le Pionnier, a beautiful Alpine-style cheese made with a blend of cow’s and sheep’s milk.
Le Pionnier also was named Best Blended Milk Cheese and Best Raw Milk Cheese.
Jean Morin was honoured four more times:
Caseus Bronze — Religieuse, a cow’s milk cheese that is an excellent table cheese and perfect for raclette,
Caseus Longaevi — Louis d’Or, 2 years, the multiple-award winner that is Morin’s pride and joy,
Best Semi-Soft Cheese — Religieuse,
Best Bloomy Rind Cheese — Brie Paysan.
Top prize winner Le Pionnier with collaborators Jean Morin of Fromagerie du Presbytere and Marie-Chantal Houde of Fromagerie Nouvelle France.
In addition to three awards with Pionnier, Marie-Chantal Houde also won with:
Best Sheep Milk Cheese — Zacharie Cloutier, 6 months.
Caseus Silver was awarded to Fromagerie La Station de Compton for Chemin Hatley, an organic farmstead cheese with a distinct floral flavor. It also won Best Cow Milk Cheese, Firm or Hard.
Making award-winning cheese at Fromagerie La Station is a family affair for the Bolduc family—and has been for four generations.
Other Caseus award winners:
Business that processes more than a million litres per year
Cow-milk cheese, Washed, mixed or natural rind
Soft
La Sauvagine
La Fromagerie Alexis de Portneuf Montréal
Semi-soft
OKA Frère Alphonse
Agropur coopérative laitière Montérégie
Firm or hard
Le Bâtisseur
Fromagerie La Vache à Maillotte Abitibi-Témiscamingue
Bloomy rind
Le Pleine Lune
Fromagerie DuVillage 1860 Abitibi-Témiscamingue
Business that processes fewer than one million litres per year
Louis Cyr
Fromagerie Bergeron Chaudière-Appalaches
Interior-ripened with ripening holes
OKA L’Artisan
Agropur coopérative laitière Montérégie
Best Blue Cheese and Best Organic Cheese: Fleuron made by Fromagerie de la Table Ronde.
Blue-veined
Fleuron
Les Fromagiers de la Table Ronde Laurentides
Grilling cheese
Le Fleur St-Michel
La Fromagerie du terroir de Bellechasse Chaudière-Appalaches
Fresh curd cheese
Curds
Fromagerie P’tit Plaisir Estrie
Cheddar
Agropur Grand Cheddar
Agropur coopérative laitière Montérégie
Flavoured by smoking, maceration or the addition of favoured ingredients
Cheddar biologique vieilli à la bière noire
Fromagerie Perron Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean
Flavoured by the addition of spices, vegetables, fruit or nuts
Fleur d’Ail
Fromage au Village Abitibi-Témiscamingue
Best organic cheese
Fleuron
Les Fromagiers de la Table Ronde Laurentides
Each year, Québec’s cheesemakers are invited to submit their best creations in the competition. All cheese makers, both large and small, can enter the race and see the fruit of their labour featured among the best cheeses Québec has to offer.
In 2017, after a rigorous evaluation process, a jury of 25 experts judged and assessed more than 217 cheeses, recognized 24 winning cheeses in as many categories, and awarded the prestigious Caseus Or prize to Le Pionnier, created by La Fromagerie du Presbytère and Fromagerie Nouvelle France.
Sélection Caseus is a registered trademark of the Ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation du Québec (MAPAQ). MAPAQ manages the contest through a steering committee made up of partners from Québec’s cheese industry.
Twenty-two category winners at the recent Canadian Cheese Awards, and the Canadian Cheese of the Year, Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar, will be in the spotlight. Plus another 100 more artisan and farmstead cheeses from coast to coast.
Clearly, the biggest selection of the best cheeses ever available for sampling and purchase in one place, that’s what cheese lovers will find at the sixth annual Great Canadian Cheese Festival in Picton on June 4-5.
Close to 40 Canadian cheese producers, including the crème of the crème of Quebec, will be on hand to share their passion and their stories with thousands of cheese lovers. There’s even an opportunity to socialize with cheesemakers at Raclette Rave, the Saturday evening social highlight of the Festival.
Is there anything better than fresh cheese curds?
Thanks to St. Albert Cheese Co-op, the first 1,000 ticket holders admitted on Saturday will enjoy a sample package of freshly made cheese curds. Soft and creamy, St. Albert curds have a delightful squeaky sound when chewed. On Sunday, the first 1,000 ticket holders will chowdown on grilled-cheese sandwiches freshly made by competing chefs using a blend of 14 award-winning cheeses. Yes, 14!
Also on Sunday, there is free admission to watch County chefs compete in the Road to Royal Chef Challenge being hosted by Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in conjunction with the Festival.
But there is more to #TGCCF than cheese, in fact, more than 500 foods and beverages are on offer. Included in price of admission: informative cheese seminars presented by Dairy Farmers of Canada, artisan foods galore, fine wine, craft beer, crisp cider, plus a souvenir tote, a souvenir glass, live music, dairy farm animals, food court and FREE parking.
Tickets are sold at the door but buying them online in advance means speedy access to all the deliciousness via the Express Entrance. Admission is $50 per person, seniors, $45. Children under 15 admitted free. Click to order tickets online.
Picton Fairgrounds is located in the heart of Prince Edward County, south of Belleville in Bay of Quinte Region. One hour from Kingston, two hours from Toronto, three hours from Ottawa and New York State, and less than four hours from Montreal.
The 81 finalists in the 2015 Canadian Cheese Grand Prix have been announced. The prestigious biennial competition sponsored by Dairy Farmers of Canada saw 268 cheeses submitted in 27 categories.
The winners will be announced April 22 at a Gala of Champions in Toronto.
Quebec, home to the majority of Canada’s cheese producers, dominates the list of 81 finalists with 31 cheeses. Naturally, some of the larger producers have the most finalists: Fromagerie Fritz Kaiser, 7 finalists, Sylvan Star Cheese, 6, and Natural Pastures Cheese Company and Fromagerie du Presbytère, 5.
The competition, open to cheese made exclusively with Canadian cow’s milk, first started in 1998 to promote achievement and innovation in cheesemaking and to spotlight the quality of Canadian milk.
Shep and Colleen Ysselstein of Gunn’s Hill Artisan Cheese near Woodstock, Ontario.
MONTREAL, June 18, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ – The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) yesterday announced that Canadian voters have chosen the turning point project Cheese Champs, submitted by Shep Ysselstein, owner of Gunn’s Hill Artisan Cheese in Woodstock, Ontario, as the winner of the 2014 BDC Young Entrepreneur Award$100,000 Grand Prize.
Shep’s project involves the construction of a 2,000 square-foot, climate-controlled curing and aging extension to his current building that would allow him to double his annual production of cheese to 60,000 kilograms. His business needs to invest in this expansion to keep up with high consumer demand for his premium cheeses from grocery chains and specialty food shops across the province.
“Winning the BDC Young Entrepreneur Award contest means a lot to our business and to the local dairy economy,” says Shep. “We’ve been overwhelmed by the amazing public support and I want to thank everyone who voted for us. I also want to thank BDC for creating a contest that inspires entrepreneurs to take a hard look at their businesses and come up with concrete projects that will drive new growth.”
“I congratulate Shep on winning the 2014 BDC Young Entrepreneur Award,” says Michel Bergeron, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Public Affairs at BDC. “His business illustrates how an entrepreneurial vision can create real opportunities for any industry, anywhere in Canada. Gunn’s Hill is more than a cheese plant; it’s a rural enterprise that creates jobs and economic activity and drives a small community forward.”
“We plan to use the $100,000 Grand Prize to accelerate the growth of our business,” says Shep. “The new curing and aging rooms will allow us to double our workforce, meet demand for our current products, and create new premium aged cheeses that will further boost our revenue. We also hope this boost will put us on track for a future national expansion, so we can start selling our products across Canada.”
The contest runner-up, who will receive $25,000 in consulting services offered by BDC, is the project Bee Wrapped, submitted by Toni Desrosiers, owner of Abeego Designs, Inc. in Victoria, British Columbia.
About the 2014 BDC Young Entrepreneur Award contest
Created by the Business Development Bank of Canada in 1988, the BDC Young Entrepreneur Award contest pays tribute to remarkable Canadian entrepreneurs between 18 and 35. For the first time in 2014, a national committee evaluated the quality of the finalist projects and gave each finalist a ranking that was combined with the public vote. The national committee evaluation was weighted to account for 30% of each project’s final ranking and the public vote accounted for the remaining 70% of the ranking. Online voting in the BDC Young Entrepreneur Award contest took place between May 29 and June 12 at www.bdc.ca/yea.
About the 2014 BDC Young Entrepreneur Award finalists
Nine projects competed for Canada’s votes in the 2014 BDC Young Entrepreneur Award contest. Each finalist described, via a video submission, a turning point their company had reached as well as their solution to achieve future growth and success:
Bee Wrapped, Toni Desrosiers, 34, Abeego Designs, Inc., Victoria, British Columbia
Waste with Purpose, Devin Goss, 29, BluPlanet Recycling Inc., Calgary, Alberta
Building Boom, Nathan Wilhelm, 30, Wilhelm Construction Services Inc., Estevan, Saskatchewan
Lori Legacey, cheesemaker at Mariposa Dairy, has a sniff of a 19-kilo wheel of Lindsay Bandaged Goat Cheddar which was named first runner-up in Best of Show at the American Cheese Society competition. Photo by Lisa Gervais/The Lindsay Post.
Canadian cheesemakers did remarkably well at the 2011 American Cheese Society Conference and Competition in Montreal this week, winning close to one-quarter of ribbons up for grabs. Best of all, Mariposa Dairy with Lindsay Bandaged Goat Cheddar and Fromagerie du Presbytère with Louis d’Or won Best of Show honors.
Louis d'Or, created by Jean Morin at Fromagerie Du Presbytère (photo), was named second runner-up in Best of Show at the annual ACS competition held in Canada for the first time.
HERE ARE ALL 69 CANADIAN RECIPIENTS OF RIBBONS BY CATEGORY
B. SOFT RIPENED CHEESES
White surface mold ripened cheeses – Brie, Camembert, Coulommiers, etc.
D. AMERICAN MADE / INTERNATIONAL STYLE
Cheeses modeled after or based on recipes for established European or other international types or styles – Beaufort, Abondance, Gruyère, Juustoleipa, Caerphilly, English Territorials, Leyden, Butterkäse, Monastery styles, etc.
2nd Bleu Mont Dairy, WI
Bandaged Cheddar – Wrapped and Aged Over 12 Months
3rd Beecher’s Handmade Cheese, WA
Flagship Reserve
F. BLUE MOLD CHEESES
All cheeses ripened with Roqueforti or Glaucum Penicillium (Excluded: Colorless Mycelia)
FK: Blue-veined made from cow’s milk with a rind or external coating
3rd Cabot Creamery Cooperative, MA
Cabot Unsalted Butter
S. CHEESE SPREADS
Spreads produced by grinding and mixing, without the aid of heat and/or emulsifying salts, one or more natural cheeses
SA: Open Category made from all milks – Spreads with flavors using a base with moisture higher than 44%
3rd Appleton Creamery, ME
Chevre Wrapped in Brandied Grape Leaf
V. WASHED RIND CHEESES
Cheeses with a rind or crust washed in salted brine, whey, beer, wine, other alcohol, or grape lees that exhibit an obvious, smeared or sticky rind and/or crust – Limburger, Pont l’Evêque, Chimay, Raclette, Swiss Appenzeller or Vignerons-style, etc.
Elisabeth Bzikot of Best Baa Dairy receives a first-place ribbon for her Sheepmilk Yogurt while Lucille Giroux of La Moutonniere waits for a second-place ribbon for Royogourt.
Congratulations to all Canadian winners! They are shown below in alphabetical order with a summary of their winnings which accounted for 22.5 percent of ribbons awarded.
The smiling-cow tie worn by Grand Champion Jean Morin breaks up TV personalities Anne-Marie Withenshaw and Ben Mulroney at the Canadian Cheese Grand Prix Gala of Champions.
It was an unforgettable evening for cheesemaker Jean Morin, his brother, Dominic, and associate cheesemaker Dany Grimard.
Additionally, in an unprecedented awards sweep, Louis d’Or was named champion in three different categories:
Firm cheese
Farmstead cheese
Organic cheese
On top of that, their fabulous Bleu d’Élizabeth was selected champion in the blue-cheese category!
Clearly, Jean Morin was the happiest and proudest cheese producer in Canada last night as the Gala of Champions unfolded at Palais Royale in Toronto, scene of a lavish awards ceremony cum cheese-tasting organized by Dairy Farmers of Canada, sponsors of the Canadian Cheese Grand Prix.
Dominic Morin, Dany Grimard and Jean Morin are flanked by Phil Bélanger, Grand Prix jury chair, and Ben Mulroney, TV personality and co-MC at the Gala of Champions.
In his acceptance speech, Jean was quick to give credit to his brother, Dominic, who looks after their herd of cows, and to Dany Grimard, who runs the make room in the former rectory that serves as the creamery across the street from their farm in Sainte-Élizabeth-de-Warwick two hours east of Montréal.
Jean and Dominic are fourth-generation dairy farmers who have found amazing success as first-generation cheese producers in a few short years. What’s the secret of their success?
“Happy, healthy cows,” Jean says. “It all starts with the milk, and the care we show the cheese as we make it.”
Appropriately, smiling cows adorned the tie Jean wore to the awards gala.
Quadruple-award-winner Louis dOr from Fromagerie du Presbytère.
Phil Bélanger, chair of the 2011 Canadian Cheese Grand Prix Jury and president of the New Brunswick Chapter of La Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, had this to say about Louis d’Or:
“The milky richness of this cheese is a tribute to the organic milk with which it is made. The cheese has a smooth texture, warm nutty and floral notes in aroma and taste. Inspired by the traditional cheesemaking know-how from the Jura region, the cheesemaker created an amazing cheese.”
Louis d’Or is truly a magnificent cheese, with fine, complex flavours, eloquently expressed after nine months of ripening. The Louis d’Or cheese gets its name from the Louis d’Or Farm, which produces the organic milk used to make it. The name of the cheese also refers to the French currency of the same name used under the reign of Louis XIII in 1640.
The first opportunity for the public to taste Grand Prix winners in one place—and meet the makers such as Jean Morin—will be at The Great Canadian Cheese Festival on June 4-5 in Picton in Prince Edward County, Ontario’s newest wine region and fastest-growing culinary destination.
At the Festival, cheese expert and author Gurth Pretty, one of the Grand Prix judges, will lead a tutored tasting on cheese of Western Canada. Grand Prix champion Margaret Peters-Morris will conduct a demonstration of cheesemaking at home.
Here is the complete list of 2011 Canadian Cheese Grand Prix winners, with asterisks indicating those already committed to taking part in The Great Canadian Cheese Festival:
The Canadian Cheese Grand Prix is a competition sponsored and hosted by Dairy Farmers of Canada, celebrating the high quality and proud tradition of Canadian cheese made from 100% Canadian cow’s milk.
For the 2011 competition, a record-breaking total of 203 cheeses from six provinces was submitted for judging in the competition.
A panel of Canada’s top cheese experts spent two days in Montréal rigorously tasting and evaluating the best cow-milk cheeses this country has to offer as they narrowed the field down to 51 cheeses in 17 categories.
—Georgs Kolesnikovs
Georgs Kolesnikovs, cheesehead-in-chief at CheeseLover.ca, couldn’t believe his ears when Jean Morin mentioned him and the upcoming Great Canadian Cheese Festival in his acceptance remarks.
Tonight’s the night! The winners in the Canadian Cheese Grand Prix will be announced at a Gala of Champions in Toronto this evening.
I’m aiming to provide a live news feed on Twitter starting soon after six o’clock and continuing until the Grand Champion is named.
The reason there’s so much excitement around here about the Grand Prix is that the winners will presented at The Great Canadian Cheese Festival upcoming on June 4-5. It will be the first opportunity for cheese lovers to taste the winning cheeses in one place at one time.
During the Artisan Cheese & Fine Food Fair on Festival Sunday (June 5), Deborah Levy of Dairy Farmers of Canada will lead a tutored tasting of the winners. They’ll also be featured the Cooks & Curds Cheese Gala on Festival Saturday (June 4).
It's a tough job but someone has to do it: Judges at work tasting the 203 cheeses entered in the 2011 Canadian Cheese Grand Prix. Photos courtesy of Dairy Farmers of Canada.
The names of finalists in the seventh Canadian Cheese Grand Prix were released today by Dairy Farmers of Canada. A record-breaking total of 203 cheeses from six provinces were submitted for judging in the competition.
A panel of Canada’s top cheese experts spent two days in Montréal last weekend tasting and evaluating 203 of the best cow-milk cheeses this country has to offer as they narrowed the field down to 51 cheeses in 17 categories.
The Grand Champion and Champions in the 17 categories will be announced by Dairy Farmers of Canada during an invitation-only Gala of Champions on April 20at Palais Royale in Toronto. The first opportunity for the public to taste all winners in one place will be at The Great Canadian Cheese Festival on June 4-5 in Picton, Ontario.
The Canadian Cheese Grand Prix is a competition sponsored and hosted by Dairy Farmers of Canada, celebrating the high quality and proud tradition of Canadian cheese made from 100% Canadian cow’s milk.
Here are the 51 finalists for the 2011 Canadian Cheese Grand Prix. In the photos, the cheeses, left to right, are in the order of the listing for each category. Click on any image for a larger view.
Phil Bélanger, Jury Chairman for the seventh edition of the Canadian Cheese Grand Prix. Phil is Senior Consultant for Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour for the province of New Brunswick, chairman of La Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs for the New Brunswick chapter and an independent consultant in hospitality and tourism.
Gurth M. Pretty, chef and author of two books on cheese, president and founder of CheeseofCanada.ca, past president of the Canadian Cheese Society, and member of La Société des fromages du Québec and the American Cheese Society.
Allison Spurrell, owner of the cheese boutique Les Amis du Fromage and the cheese-inspired restaurant Au Petit Chavignol in Vancouver. Allison holds a certificate in cheese making technology from the University of Guelph and was inducted in the Confrérie des Chevaliers des Fromages de France.
Antoine Sicotte,artist, television host, photographer, musician and self-taught cook extraordinaire. Antoine is the author of the best-seller Le Cuisinier rebelle, a cookbook as unique as its author. The book was honoured in the Best First Cookbook category at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in 2009, and won silver in the French cookbook category at the 2010 Canadian Culinary Book Awards. He is currently working on two new cookbooks, as well as several additional television projects.
Ian Picard, vice-president of La Fromagerie Hamel in Montreal. Ian studied everything there is to learn about cheese at the École Nationale d’Industrie Laitière et des Biotechnologies de Poligny in France.
Rita Demontis,award-winning writer with the Toronto Sun for 34 years, Lifestyle and Food Editor, as well as National Food Editor for the Sun Media chain. Rita was recently awarded the Ontario Produce Marketing Association’s Person of the Year award in Ontario.
Michael Howell,chef, cookbook author, leader of Slow Food Nova Scotia, president of The Restaurant Association of Nova Scotia and sits on the board of Taste of Nova Scotia. Michael is also the owner of Tempest Restaurantin Wolfville, Nova Scotia.
Judging of the entries took place on February 19and 20at the Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec (ITHQ) in Montreal. For two days, jury members carefully observed, touched, smelled, and tasted each cheese and evaluated them according to precise criteria, including colour and general appearance, texture and body, flavour and salt content. To be eligible for the Grand Prix, cheeses must be produced in Canada exclusively from 100% Canadian cow’s milk and be available to consumers at point of sale at the time they are judged.
Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) strives to create favourable conditions for the Canadian dairy industry, today and in the future. DFC works to maintain policies that foster the viability of Canadian dairy producers and to promote quality Canadian dairy products made from 100% Canadian cow’s milk as part of a healthy balanced diet.
This certainly isn’t your run-of-the-mill advertisement for cheese!
Fifth Town Artisan Cheese has been running ads in Edible Toronto magazine that are safe to describe as offbeat. Double-click the ad shown for an enlarged view.
Petra Kassun-Mutch, founder and president of Fifth Town in Ontario’s Prince Edward County, explains: “The goal was to position artisan cheese as part of an active, healthy, conscientious, and engaged lifestyle. Not just a treat for hard-core foodies or for wine and cheese parties . . . and not just for connoisseurs. (We want to appeal to) skateboarders, Harley riders, the gay community, everyone. We also want to attract the younger set to artisan cheeses.”
The design firm that produces the ads—See them all here—is Scout Design of Picton, owner Rene Dick. The illustrator is Carl Wiens, the copy writer, Anna Winthrow.
Petra says the other purpose of the ads is to be a good artisan-cheese industry citizen by promoting the industry as well as Fifth Town: “That is why you see all the links and bookmarks at the bottom. You will note are promoting artisan cheese in general. Part of the philosophy to do well by doing good. Our own logo is a very small part of ad.”
The Locavorius Caseophile ad campaign was one of three finalists in the Best Ad or Ad Campaign category at the Edible Publications Conference and Awards Banquet held in California recently for the 60 publications in the Edible magazine family.
Deservedly, Vacherin Mont d'Or sits front and center at a cheese tasting also featuring Fritz Kaiser's Miranda, a seven-year-old Empire Cheddar and Celtic Blue from Glengarry Fine Cheese.
There’s nothing quite as exciting as tasting an outstanding cheese for the first time: Whoa! What aroma! What flavour! What texture! Where have you been all my life?
We bring the curtain down on 2010 with friends in fromage recalling the memorable cheeses that crossed their palates this year.
Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar, Cows Creamery:
Lots of typical aged Cheddar flavour with sweet and spicy notes. Very firm and dry.
—Art Hill, professor, Dairy Science and Cheese Technology, University of Guelph
Louis d’Or, Fromagerie du Presbytère:
An 18-month-old, 40kg organic raw milk pressed cheese that won the Gold Medal at 2010 Quebec Caseus Awards. Federally licensed.
—Alain Besré, Fromagerie Atwater, often called the godfather of the Québec artisan cheese movement
Brebichon, Les Fromages du Verger:
A young 350g farmstead sheep milk cheese made with apple juice added to the curd and washed with apple juice from their own orchard. First prize in washed rind cheese category at 2010 Quebec Caseus Awards. Provincially licensed.
—Alain Besré, Fromagerie Atwater, often called the godfather of the Québec artisan cheese movement
Jersey Blue, Städtlichäsi Lichtensteig:
A 100% Jersey cow’s milk cheese from Switzerland made by Willi Schmid. So beautiful you almost don’t want to eat it, just gaze at it. But, mamma mia, when it gets into your mouth! What a cheese, WHAT a cheese! —Russell Gammon, Executive Secretary, Jersey Canada
Le Foin d’Odeur, La Moutonniere:
Soft surface-ripened sheep’s milk, sweet, mushroomy and herbacious. When ripe, like licking buttered popcorn from your fingertips!
—Vanessa Simmons, Cheese Sommelier, Savvy Company
Monforte Dairy Cottage Cheese:
Georgous small cream colour curds that play on your tongue like caviar and are so fresh they sqeek lightly on your teeth.
—Andy Shay, Cheese Consultant
At CheeseLover.ca, the most memorable moment in cheese of 2010 came when we first tasted Vacherin Mont d’Or, a singular seasonal cheese of Switzerland that delivers an amazing explosion of aroma and taste—so rich, so gooey.
Other taste hits:
Miranda, Fromagerie Fritz Kaiser:
Cheesemaker Fritz Kaiser, who kick-started the Quebec artisanal cheese movement in the 1980s, says Miranda is one of the many cheeses he produces that he’s most proud of. That says a lot, when one considers he makes Le Douanier, Port Royal, Raclette, La Soeur Angele, Le Saint Paulin, among others. We especially liked the rustic flavours of Miranda.
Celtic Blue, Glengarry Fine Cheese, and Bleu d’Elizabeth, Fromagerie du Presbytère: Two very different blue cheeses that demonstrate how far blues made in Canada have come since the days Roquefort ruled. Three cheers for Blue Canada!
Empire Cheddar, 7-year, Empire Butter & Cheese:
There are so many fine older cheddars made in Canada, but Empire’s oldest offering stands out in memories of cheese tasted during 2010.
—Georgs Kolesnikovs, Cheese-head-in-chief at CheeseLover.ca, wonders what outstanding cheeses he’ll encounter in the New Year.
The Great Canadian Cheese Festival is produced by Cheese Lover Productions with the generous support of Celebrate Ontario. 
