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World cheese champions
What is the best cheese in the world? Since 1988 the World Cheese Awards has answered once a year. The table below lists the world champion of every edition, with producer and country.
The world champion, year by year
| Year | Cheese | Producer | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Le Gruyère AOP | Bergkäserei Vorderfultigen | Switzerland |
| 2024 | Queijo de Ovelha Amanteigado | Quinta do Pomar | Portugal |
| 2023 | Nidelven Blå | Gangstad Gårdsysteri | Norway |
| 2022 | Le Gruyère AOP (matured by Gourmino) | Vorderfultigen | Switzerland |
| 2020 | no competition (covid-19 pandemic) | ||
| 2021 | Olavidia | Quesos y Besos | Spain |
| 2019 | Rogue River Blue | Rogue Creamery | United States |
| 2018 | Fanaost | Ostegården | Norway |
| 2017 | Cornish Kern | Lynher Dairies | England |
| 2016 | Kraftkar | Tingvollost | Norway |
| 2015 | Le Gruyère AOP | von Mühlenen | Switzerland |
| 2014 | Bath Blue | Bath Soft Cheese | England |
| 2013 | Montagnolo Affiné | Käserei Champignon | Germany |
| 2012 | Manchego DO Gran Reserva | Dehesa de Los Llanos | Spain |
| 2011 | Ossau-Iraty | Fromagerie Agour | France |
| 2010 | Cornish Blue | Cornish Cheese Company | England |
| 2009 | Le Cendrillon | La Maison Alexis de Portneuf | Canada |
| 2008 | Queso de Pimentón Arico (curado) | Quesería de Arico (Tenerife) | Spain |
| 2007 | Brie de Meaux | Renard-Gillard | France |
| 2006 | Ossau-Iraty | Fromagerie Agour | France |
| 2005 | Le Gruyère Premier Cru | von Mühlenen | Switzerland |
| 2004 | Camembert de Normandie | Isigny Sainte-Mère | France |
| 2003 | Chèvre d'Or (goat milk camembert) | Eurial Poitouraine | France |
| 2002 | Le Gruyère AOC Réserve | von Mühlenen | Switzerland |
| 2001 (tie) | Mature Cheddar | Carbery | Ireland |
| 2001 (tie) | Camembert Super Médaillon | Isigny Sainte-Mère | France |
| 2000 | Mature West Country Farmhouse Cheddar | Brue Valley Farms | England |
| 1999 | Kollumer 18 months | Frico Cheese | Netherlands |
| 1998 | Mature Traditional Cheddar | Dairy Crest | England |
| 1997 | Parmigiano Reggiano | Caseificio Vittorio Quistello | Italy |
| 1996 | Lord of the Hundreds | Traditional Cheese Dairy | England |
| 1995 | Shropshire Blue | Cropwell Bishop Creamery | England |
| 1994 | Brie de Meaux AOC | Hennart Frères | France |
| 1993 | Double Gloucester | Dairy Crest | England |
| 1992 | Le Gruyère Premier Cru | von Mühlenen | Switzerland |
| 1991 | Fourme d'Ambert | Hennart Frères | France |
| 1990 | Mature Traditional Cheddar | Dairy Crest | England |
| 1989 | Blue Stilton | Dairy Crest | England |
| 1988 | Blue Cheshire | Hutchinson-Smith & Sons | England |
Titles by country
| Country | Titles |
|---|---|
| England | 11 |
| France | 8 |
| Switzerland | 6 |
| Spain | 3 |
| Norway | 3 |
| Italy | 1 |
| Netherlands | 1 |
| Ireland | 1 |
| Canada | 1 |
| Germany | 1 |
| United States | 1 |
| Portugal | 1 |
What the World Cheese Awards is
Run since 1988 by the Guild of Fine Food, based in London, the World Cheese Awards is the biggest cheese competition on the planet. The 2025 edition, in Bern, Switzerland, judged a record 5,244 cheeses from 46 countries in a single day, with 265 judges. Each judging table awards golds, silvers and bronzes; the best golds become Super Golds; and a final jury debates, in public, which Super Gold takes the World Champion Cheese title.
Brazil on the cheese map
Brazil has never taken the world title, but it is no longer a footnote. At the 2025 edition in Bern, Brazilian cheeses collected 50 medals (5 golds, 19 silvers and 26 bronzes), with a strong showing from the artisanal cheeses of Serra da Canastra. And the blue cheese Morro Azul, by Pomerode Alimentos from Pomerode, Santa Catarina, won Super Gold in both 2022 and 2023, when it was also named the best cheese in Latin America.
What the table tells
Swiss Gruyère is the only six-time champion: 1992, 2002, 2005, 2015, 2022 and 2025, a cheese with a medieval recipe beating thousands of modern rivals. England, home of the contest, leads the title count comfortably. The top spot was shared only once, in 2001, between a Normandy camembert and an Irish cheddar. And 2020 was the only year without a contest, because of the pandemic. Public records exist since the very first edition, 1988: the table above covers all 37 editions held through 2025.
Sources: Guild of Fine Food (gff.co.uk, the organizer), Wikipedia and press coverage (NPR, CNN). Snapshot of July 2026. This site is independent and not affiliated with the World Cheese Awards or the Guild of Fine Food.
Last updated: · Methodology and sources