VISEU, Portugal – Jasper Hill Farm’s Bayley Hazen Blue wins Super Gold Medal and ‘Best American Cheese’ Trophy at the World Cheese Awards out of nearly 5,000 international entries.
Nine cheeses from Jasper Hill Farm received medals at this year’s World Cheese Awards, including Gold Medals for Harbison and Vault No. 5; Silver Medals for Cabot Clothbound, Caspian, Moses Sleeper, and Alpha Tolman; and a Bronze Medal for Willoughby. Barnstorm Blue, made by Jasper Hill Farm and Ripened by Murray’s Cheese, was awarded a Silver Medal. Bayley Hazen Blue was first awarded one of 108 Super Gold Medals before selection as a Top 14 finisher. Ultimately, Bayley Hazen Blue was awarded 83 points, which amounted to a fifth-place finish overall, with the winning cheese at 86 points.
The World Cheese Awards, hosted annually in different international cities, was held this year in Viseu, Portugal. A total of 240 judges from 39 countries were split into 104 teams to undertake the task of determining which entries were worthy of an accreditation. The cheeses were evaluated on factors such as the appearance of the rind and paste, the cheese’s aroma, body, texture and its flavour and mouthfeel. To ensure a completely fair competition, the assessment is judged blind with judges given a brief description, but no indication of origin or producer.
This year’s competition was the biggest yet, with 1,032 companies from across the globe entering 4,786 cheeses. The judging took place on Friday, Nov. 15, with Bronze, Silver, Gold and Super Gold awards being allocated in the morning and the Super Golds being reassessed in the afternoon to find the 14 top cheeses, from which the absolute winner, World Champion Cheese 2024 was selected.
Bayley Hazen Blue is a raw milk cheese made from the milk of Jasper Hill Farm’s herd of cows, as it has been since the company’s inception in 2003. Although Jasper Hill Farm’s collection of artisan cheese takes inspiration from old-world traditional cave-aged, natural rind cheeses, the recipe for Bayley Hazen Blue is considered an American-original. A staple of East Coast farm-to-plate menus, Bayley Hazen Blue has a fudge-like texture, toasted-nut sweetness, and anise spice character. The paste is dense and creamy, with well-distributed blue veins. The usual peppery character of blue cheese is subdued, giving way to the grassy, nutty flavors in the milk.
While Bayley Hazen Blue was the only American cheese that finished in the Top 14, the United States took home a record 160 Medals, made by 50 different producers. This amounts to the fourth highest Medal count for any country behind Spain, Italy, and Switzerland, respectively. Notably, Jasper Hill Farm was one of just 19 Independent, Farmer-owned American producers to Medal.
“We’re proud to represent Independent Artisans making world-class cheese in the 21st Century. Our international community is known for a collaborative spirit and a mission to leverage high- value cheesemaking in support of rural economies. In short, we share a belief in the transformative power of radically delicious cheese.”
Jasper Hill Farm, located in Greensboro, Vermont, is known for its collection of award-winning, cave-aged, artisan cheese. A ‘grass to plate’ approach allows the small family of businesses to manage excellence at every step of the process. The tight-knit team practices regenerative land management to feed their carefully managed cow and goat herds. Raw milk is transformed within two small creameries that use a blend of modern technology and traditional methods to reveal place-based character. A set of subterranean vaults are used to cultivate natural rinds and aromatic complexity during cheese ripening. This commitment to radical deliciousness has positioned Jasper Hill Farm as the industry leader of quality and innovation.
