Carbery Group won big at the International Cheese Awards, which took place in Nantwich, near Manchester, England, last week.
Winning a total of 21 awards, 2017 was Carbery’s most successful year ever at the annual awards, the group has announced.
Highlights of the event were two major trophies for the Co-Operative Food Award for the Best Mature Cheese and the Champion Convenience Cheese.
Carbery also won five ‘Silvers’ for its Dubliner Ploughmans slices, Carbery Cracker, Sliced Chilli, Reduced Fat and Dubliner Butter products.
Finally, the group took home three ‘Bronze’ awards for Special Reserve, Chilli Cheese Block and Mature Cheddar, as well as four ‘Highly Commended’ awards.
The awards, according to Carbery, are much sought-after for cheese-makers and retailers.
The Carbery cheese facility in Ballineen, Co. Cork, according to the group, is one of the largest cheese-production facilities in the country – producing almost 25% of Ireland’s annual cheddar cheese output.
Commenting on the group’s success at the awards, Dermot Curtin, Carbery Group Cheese Production Manager, stated: “Carbery’s success at the International Cheese Awards is testament to the high quality of our west Cork milk and the expertise of our team.
“We are delighted with the broad range of our cheeses that were recognised at the awards, including gold medals for reduced fat cheeses, Dubliner, mature cheddar, and black pepper cheddar,” he added.
A particularly proud moment was when our Mature Cheddar won gold against 135 other cheeses in the category.
“The recently launched Carbery Cracker Cheddar was also among our silver award winners.”
Concluding, Curtin siad: “We are very proud to have had our best year ever at the awards and that our innovation and continuous improvements in quality are being recognised.”