Bath & West Food and Drink Festival launches with the Cheese Awards

This year's selection is un-BRIE-lievable... with the awards happening ahead of this weekend's Bath & West Food and Drink Festival

The judges at the show
Author: Oliver MorganPublished 22nd Mar 2024
Last updated 22nd Mar 2024

This year's Bath & West Food and Drink Festival has kicked off - with the tradition of the British Cheese Awards!

Hundreds of cheeses are going on show - with entries from across Great Britain and Ireland - ranging from the traditional to the quirky.

The event happens every year at the Bath and West Showground in Shepton Mallet - and organisers say it's set to be one of the largest ever showcases of cheese across the nation.

The stats

This year marks the 28th edition of the competition - with 63 judges looking over 600 cheese entries.

These include:

  • 76 cheddars
  • 42 territorial cheeses
  • 48 blue cheeses
  • 36 soft white cheeses
  • 62 added flavour cheeses
  • 19 fresh cheeses
  • 53 modern cheeses
  • 25 new cheeses

In total, there are 81 producers who've made their way to the event:

  • 67 from England
  • 5 from Ireland
  • 3 from Scotland
  • 6 from Wales

Organisers of the Bath and West Food & Drink Festival have hailed the British Cheese Awards as playing a 'front and centre' role at the event - adding it gives visitors 'the opportunity to 'view and taste some of the award-winning cheeses' from right across Britain and Ireland.

Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.