Swiss Cheese Awards 2026: A Record-Breaking Celebration of Teamwork

Fribourg became Switzerland’s cheese capital from 6 to 11 October, as the 14th Swiss Cheese Awards drew a record 1,177 cheeses into competition. Around 200 Swiss and international judges tasted their way through the entries, and a super-jury led by FROMARTE crowned three Swiss Champions from among the 33 category winners: Nicolas Brodard’s Le Gruyère d’alpage AOP, Marc-André Girardin’s Tête de Moine AOP Classique and Arnaud Guichard’s Tomme Fleurette.

Behind these numbers lies a model of cooperation worth noting. The Awards work because producers and institutions pull in the same direction. Cheesemakers bring craftsmanship and the courage to put their products to the test. Institutions provide the expertise, the structure and the stage that turn a competition into a lasting driver of progress. The University of Fribourg, the Grangeneuve cantonal institute, local vocational schools, the Burgergemeinde, Terroir Fribourg, the Food & Nutrition Cluster and Fribourg Tourism all joined forces, together with 21 restaurants and shops across the city. Each judging round gives producers valuable feedback to refine their cheeses, while the surrounding programme carries their work to the public.

That public response was remarkable: some 15,000 visitors, a weekend market with over 60 exhibitors, and 300 students and apprentices taking part in educational activities. About 40 journalists from key export markets also toured local dairies and research facilities, bringing the story of Swiss cheese well beyond national borders.

As Martin Spahr of Switzerland Cheese Marketing put it, the Awards showcase the variety of Swiss cheese and the people and values behind it.
The Swiss example can be very inspiring for the rest of Europe: when quality-driven producers and committed institutions work side by side, the result is better cheeses and a stronger voice for the whole sector.

Hungarian Cheese Festival 2026: three days, one cheese community

From October 1–3, the Hungarian association organized the 14th Hungarian Cheese Festival in Martonvásár which for many years now has been a three-day series of events featuring various activities: cheese awards, a professional conference, and a cheese fair.

This year, 119 products from 50 producers were entered in the cheese competition. The jury selected the 17-month-old Magyartarka Öreg cheese from the Paraszt Sajt dairy as the “Cheese of the Year.”

It is a great pleasure for us that, thanks in part to FACEnetwork, our association is able to invite more and more international experts to our conference each year.
This year, Hans-Peter Bachmann and Hans Knüsel from Switzerland were our keynote speakers.

One of the most exciting highlights of the conference was the roundtable discussion: Raw Milk, Heat Treatment, and Cheese Making—Food Safety and Technological Considerations. Alongside our invited guests, participants exchanged views on the topic under the guidance of Szabolcs Elek and Kálmán Reményik (Vászolyi Cheese). Every year in addition to workshops, we organize exciting tastings: this year, we paired artisanal cheeses with tea and whisky.

The third day was finally dedicated to consumers: 14 Hungarian farmhouse and artisanal cheesemakers brought their cheeses to Martonvásár’s main square, much to the delight of many people. At the cheese fair, our association prepared túrógombóc (hungarian cottage cheese dumplings), raclette cheese, and also held a mozzarella-making demonstration.

The Swedish Championship in Artisanal food 2026

In the capital of Kristianstad the biggest event of the year, for artisanal food, took place last week.

Over 800 products were judged in taste, flavor, looks and quality. It was sausages and different kinds of meat products, fish products, breads, and marmalades, different kinds of drinks, jams and innovation products and of course a lot of cheese.

The cheese is judged in different classes such as blue mold, white mold, hard pressed cheese, typical Swedish cheese, fresh cheese, matured fresh cheese, butter, cheese to fry or grill,washed rind cheese and also two different kinds of Swedish style of cheese cake. It was around 200 cheeses all together in the Swedish Championship.

Among the judges we could find cheese experts, chefs, mongers and previous cheese makers. It was an honor to see FACE- Networks President Kerstin Jürss among the judges.

The competition’s judging is divided into: 5 points for best looks, 5 points for best mouthfeel and 10 points for best taste and smell. A gold medal is between 19-20 points and that one is hard to get. It is only the cheeses with exceptional craftsmanship that can get a gold medal. Silver is 17-18,5 a well-executed craftsmanship bordering on exceptional. Bronze medal goes to 15-16,5 a well- executed craftsmanship. There is also a distinction for Best in Class to the best gold medal in the class.

This year it was 21 Gold medals, 13 Best in Class, 29 Silver and 26 Bronze medals presented.