The Courtyard Dairy has been awarded 'Affineur of the Year' for the 'Hard Cheese' category at a national event in London celebrating skills in maturing cheeses to bring out their best flavours.
The event, run by The Academy of Cheese, pits the best cheese-makers and cheese-mongers against each other, testing their ability to mature and age a range of cheeses. All the competitors are delivered the exact same cheese the day after it is made.
They then have to mature the cheese to the best of their ability using their own knowledge and expertise.
Cheeses are then judged blind by a panel of industry experts on appearance, flavour and aroma, rind development and condition of the cheese. Additional marks are awarded for innovation in maturing techniques and their record keeping.
After a year of looking after a brand-new Quickes Cheddar, The Courtyard Dairy (near Settle) was the outstanding winner for their class, with their Cheddar taking home the prize of best matured hard cheese.
"We were thrilled with the end result," said Kathy Swinscoe, co-owner of The Courtyard Dairy, "It just shows you the quality of our maturation facility and skills we have up here in Settle. It is nice to be recognised for the craft of how we keep and mature cheeses at The Courtyard Dairy. It demonstrates how we really do bring out the very best out of the cheeses we stock, in order to make sure they reach their full potential and taste a class above."
At the beginning of his career, many years ago, co-owner Andy spent 6-months working in a cave in France, learning to mature cheese from the very best regarded cheese maturer (Affineur) in the world: Herve Mons. "That apprenticeship set me up for life, but I'm pleased that I took those skills, and refined and honed them over my career. It has allowed The Courtyard Dairy to make a difference to British cheese and make sure we can compete on a national stage."
But The Courtyard Dairy can't rest on their laurels, next year's competition has already begun, with young Cheddars arriving this week to be matured and kept ready for judging in 2024!
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