The Armstrong Advertiser December 8/1999

For the second year in a row, The Village Cheese Co. has won the grand champion cheese award at Canada's top cheese judging competition, the British Empire Cheese Show.

The Village Cheese Co.'s mature white cheddar was considered by the four independent judges to be the best overall entry out of about 120 this year.

"I was in total shock because I didn't expect it," said Ivan Matte, the local cheese company's master cheese maker.

Their cheese was pitted against the best cheese produced in Canada.

The Village Cheese Co. also captured five other ribbons.

Held at Belleville Ont., it was the 72nd annual British Empire Cheese Show, attracting entries from all over Canada and one from the U.S.

Dwight Johnson, owner of The Village Cheese Co., was jubilant when he received a telephone call from Mr. Matte who was attending the show in Belleville with the news of the big win.

"It just goes to show that Armstrong is still a centre of excellence when it comes to cheese making," he said. "We're really pleased."

Other ribbons won by The Village Cheese Co. in specialty cheeses included: second in hard cheese (their parmesan), fourth in semi-soft (Swiss), fourth in the German butter cheese class and first and second respectively for their flavored cheese (cheddar onion and chive).

"There where the big companies as well as the medium and small plants such as ours," Mr. Matte said. "Cheddar entries where up a bit from last year while the specialty cheese entries where down a bit."

Competition is stiff

The British Empire Cheese Show is the biggest cheese show in Canada. Mr. Matte said suppliers, buyers and the public have an opportunity to go through the show, held in a large shopping centre at Belleville.

"The specialty cheeses were brought up the first day," he said. "It's a good opportunity for cheese manufacturers to promote their products."

The four independent judges worked through separate classes of entries with their placings tallied together to select the winner. The first place winners then moved forward to the championship class at the show.

Last year, The Village Cheese Co. won the grand champion at the same show, entering their mild cheddar. The company hadn't been in business very long but had entered to see how their product stacked up against others.