The Armstrong Advertiser Dec2/1998 Village Cheese New Champion One of the first batches of cheese manufactured by The Village Cheese Company has been declared the grand champion of the British Empire cheese competitions, held last week at Belleville, Ont. "It is pretty exciting," said cheesemaker Ivan Matte. "Our quality is tremendous. He said the cheese from the fledgling micro-cheese plant took the open class with their white cheddar, going on to win the grand championship class. The Village Cheese Company, located beside the liquor store on Smith Dr., opened its doors to the public last week. Prior to becoming head cheesemaker there, Mr. Matte spent 15 years with the Dairyworld Armstrong cheese operation. "We're just thrilled the way it's going at the newplant," he said, speaking of Village Cheese. Mr. Matte's brother also is in the cheese making business in Ontario. He captured reserve at this year's British Empire competitions.