Pilgrims Choice bags three gongs at the International Cheese and Dairy Awards
CHEDDAR cheese brand Pilgrims Choice has bagged a trio of awards at the International Cheese and Dairy Awards for its Extra Mature Cheddar product.
Held at the Staffordshire County Showground, the International Cheese and Dairy Awards – the world’s largest cheese competition – featured over 3,750 entries from across the globe which were judged by leading industry experts and master cheese graders.
Of these 3,750, Pilgrims Choice Extra Mature Cheddar was honoured by winning three major awards at the event including The Reserve Champion Overseas, Champion Overseas Cheddar and Best Irish Cheddar.
In addition to this, Pilgrims Choice also won a further seven awards including three Gold, three Silver and one Bronze. Of the Golds, one went to Pilgrims Choice Extra Mature in the Irish Cheddar class and second for Pilgrims Choice Mature in the Mature Cheddar class for non-UK producers.
And the recently launched Pilgrims Choice Inclusions range swept the board for the Best Additive Cheese category for UK and Republic of Ireland cheesemakers.
The new Pilgrims Choice Inclusions range features a selection of blended cheese that tap into cutting edge food trends with additional flavours on top of the cheddar.
The range consists of:
• Pilgrims Choice ‘The Mexican One’ which combines paprika and smoked water with spicy paprika and sweet caramelised onion to bring an additional sweetness. This product picked up a Gold gong.
• Pilgrims Choice ‘The Italian One’ that features garlic, chives and bleck pepper to deliver a well balanced ‘pesto’ flavour that took home the Silver.
• Pilgrims Choice ‘The British One’ is based on the timeless combination of cheese and onion, but has been given an extra flavour boost through the addition of porcini, roast garlic, honey and black pepper to win the Bronze.
Nicola Blackmore-Squires, marketing director at parent firm Ornua Foods UK, said: “To be honoured as The Reserve Champion Overseas; Champion Overseas Cheddar and Best Irish Cheddar is a tremendous testament to the passion and skill that our cheesemakers take in making Pilgrims Choice.
“In everything we do, we are committed to helping consumers explore, experiment and discover that there is nothing more freeing and enlivening than daring to live a life full of flavour and we are therefore delighted that the superb taste and quality of Pilgrims Choice has been recognised on the global stage.”
