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When competitors from 24 countries met last Monday through Wednesday for the World Championship Cheese Contest at Monona Terrace, a Dutch Vermeer by FrieslandCampina took top honors.
The competition, hosted by the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association, took place over three days and 2,504 cheese entries competed for international acclaim. By Wednesday evening, only 16 cheeses remained for the final judging round. Forty white-jacketed cheese experts rotated around the top contenders, silently sniffing and tasting samples.
Each cheese starts with a perfect 100-point score and is marked down for defects in areas such as flavor, aroma, body, and texture. The champion Vermeer had a score of 98.73889.
Though the Netherlands took the overall champion title, the U.S. faired well in the 81 other categories judged. Of the 55 gold medals awarded to the U.S., 30 went to Wisconsin cheese makers.
[2]Judges assess one of 16 cheeses in the contest's final round.
“Is it predictable? No, not at all,” Mike Matucheski of Sartori Cheese said of the judging. “It’s always a surprise.”
What makes a qualified cheese judge? Experience.
"Of course you need to have judged the different kind of cheeses quite a lot. I have been working with cheeses [for] about 30 years," said Matti Kärki, a judge visiting from Helsinki, Finland. This was his first time at the Madison contest.
"It's very, very nice. Very, very fine competition and of course it is a very big honor to be here as a judge," Kärki said.
[3]A judge critiques a cheese's aroma; aroma is one of four categories in which each cheese is scored.The final scoring session was a ticketed event and a large sampling of international cheeses greeted spectators, allowing them to choose their own winners. Area cheese makers also lined up in the judging room, offering additional samples and insight into the art of cheese making. As the champions were announced, the audience cheered and clapped in support of the decision.
“I am just fanatical about cheese. I love it so this is a wonderful place to be. It has exceeded my expectations by quite a lot,” said Madison resident Joe Klimczak. He particularly enjoyed a sample of the Marieke Gouda with cumin.
“There are far more cheeses than a person could eat tonight,” Klimczak said.
