Remember that time you had too much cheese, felt a bit queasy and — as a greasy sheen broke out on your forehead — you lied to yourself that it was salad from now on?
Then spare a thought for the heroic judges at this year’s World Cheese Awards, who assembled on Thursday to anoint an aged Swiss Gruyère as the best cheese in the world for 2025.
This army of 265 cheese experts from all over the planet was tasked with wading through dairy concoctions of every shape, size, color and consistency in a large auditorium in the Swiss capital Bern. In the space of a couple of hours, each judge plowed their way through at least 40 cheeses — sniffing, stroking, crumbling, and finally, tasting to arrive at a score.
The winner was Bergkäserei Vorderfultigen, a cheese made from cow’s milk at a small dairy in the Alpine lowlands of western Switzerland. “It’s an incredible honor,” said cheesemaker Pius Hitz, shortly after picking up the top prize.
While the win in previous years has resulted in a surge in sales for the champion cheese, Hitz said his herd of red and white Fleckvieh cows can rest easy. A production increase is unlikely, he said, so as not to disturb the delicate balance of the protected Gruyère market.
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