A Spanish soft cheese from the Jaén area in Andalucia is the new champion of the World Cheese Awards. The Guild of Fine Food is behind the festival which, although canceled in 2020 due to covid concerns, was again arranged this year. And this time as part of the “Asturias Paraíso Natural Internacional Cheese Festival” which was held from the 3rd to the 6th of November. There were more than 4,000 cheeses from over 40 countries on five different continents competing for the title of The World’s Best Cheese and this year a small cheese maker business from Spain became its prize winner. The competition was held in Oviedo (the capital city of Asturias) and the 250 or so international judges voted the Quesos y Besos (Cheeses and Kisses) soft cheese Olavidia its champion.
The families behind the firm Lácteos Romero Peláez based in the Guarromán, Sierra Morena area north of Jaén have been making goat milk and goat cheese for generations already. To produce the milk they have a drove of Malaga goats grazing in the Jaén highlands, an area which they describe as “a wonderful rural area that is very close to the concept of paradise for livestock”. By the way, the Malaga goat is one of the world’s most important dairy breeds.
And this is not the first time the Olavidia cheese has received a prestigious prize. In 2018 it won the judges vote as the Best Cheese in Spain. This happened during the 9th Gourmet Quesos del Salón, a national competition arranged by Grupo Gourmets as part of its annual Hall of Gourmets fair. Grupo Gourmets established the Hall of Gourmets in 1987. It is an important European fair devoted to high-end products focusing on the professional market.
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