Devon-based cheesemaker, Quicke’s has been named among the winners at Great Taste 2019, taking five honours at the world’s most coveted food and drink awards. Standing out from the crowd as a record-breaking 12,772 entries were put through the competition’s rigorous blind-tasting judging process, Quicke’s Cheddar impressed the judges yet again, as both Mature Clothbound Cheddar and Vintage Clothbound Cheddar took home Great Taste stars.
Earning plaudits from the panel some 45 years since the first truckles left the cheese stores at Home Farm, these award-winning cheddars represent Quicke’s continuing dedication to the art of cheesemaking. From its hybrid cows and carefully honed blend of grass varieties to its time-honoured cheesemaking process and continually refined grading system, every element of the process has been enhanced over the decades, as science and the senses come together in pursuit of greatness.
Other Great Taste award winning wedges include Quicke’s Goat’s Milk Clothbound Cheese, a vibrant and buttery 6-month matured hard cheese made using locally sourced goat’s milk, and Lady Prue, Quicke’s first ever mixed milk cheese, named after Mary Quicke’s mother, who first established the dairy at Home Farm. Completing the line-up, Quicke’s Slightly Salted Cow’s Whey Butter also achieved a 1-star award, as judges enjoyed the time-honoured recipe of grass-fed cows’ milk and whey cream leftover from the cheesemaking process, recognised by the Slow Food UK movement as one of the UK’s great ‘forgotten foods’.
Mary Quicke MBE (pictured above) commented:
“It’s always an honour to receive recognition for your craft, but when you know how robust the judging process is first hand, it’s even more gratifying. Great Taste plays such an important role in helping speciality food producers compete in a marketplace driven by economies of scale and big brands, and each year the list of winners highlights how it’s the smaller scale artisan producers that still set the benchmark for quality. For us cheddar makers, Great Taste stars remind people that cheddar should not just be seen as the commodity option. Cheddar is a broad church and the finest truckles are among the world’s best, so we’d like to see more and more people experiment with their cheese choices and discover that there’s a cheddar for every occasion.”
