Tom Burgess (right), of Coolattin Cheddar presented with the gold award in the mature farmhouse cheddar aged over 12 months category at the 2024 Irish Cheese Awards by broadcaster and MC for the event, Bobby Kerr
CO Carlow farmhouse cheesemaker Coolattin Cheddar scooped two honours last week at the 2024 Irish Cheese Awards, winning gold and silver accolades.
The prestigious ceremony was hosted by Cáis, the Association of Irish Farmhouse Cheesemakers, at Kilshane House in Co Tipperary.
The biennial celebration of Ireland’s farmhouse cheesemakers, now in its tenth year, named winners across 17 categories.
This followed a rigorous judging process that was undertaken by a high-calibre panel of Irish and international cheese experts at Teagasc’s Ashtown Food Research Centre last month.
Together, the 13 judges tasted 175 different cheeses produced by 43 businesses across the island of Ireland.
Each cheese was individually scored on aroma, flavour, body, texture and overall appearance.
Co Carlow’s Coolattin Cheddar picked up gold and silver awards, while Tullow-based Coolattin Cheddar’s Mount Leinster Clothbound cheese took home gold, having been named winner of the mature farmhouse cheddar aged over 12 months.
The farmhouse cheesemakers’ second win of the day came in the same category, where its Coolattin Mature cheese picked up a silver award.
Having produced top-quality milk from his pasture-fed cows for 20 years, farmer Tom Burgess decided to develop a product which reflected this quality. So, in 2003 he founded Coolattin Cheddar at Knockeen near Tullow and started producing mature raw-milk cheddars.
The milk used to make both award-winning cheeses is special for a number of reasons. They process in the summer months only, when their cows are grazing on fresh, clover-rich pasture – the ideal diet for cheese-processing milk. And they specifically use early-morning milk, which is high in melatonin and aids relaxation and sleep. Rather than being stored or pasteurised, it is pumped directly to the cheese vat, meaning their traditional cheesemaking process preserves all of the natural goodness and flavour of the milk.
