2 Michigan cheesemakers win at 2023 World Cheese Awards
(FOX 2) - Michigan cheeses recently took home awards from the 2023 World Cheese Awards.
The world’s largest cheese-only competition was held in Trondheim, Norway, and included 4,202 cheeses from 40 countries.
Leelanau Cheese Co. in Suttons Bay won Super Gold, the highest ranking in the competition, for its Leelanau Raclette. It was one of only 100 cheeses to win Super Gold. Raclette is a traditional herdsman's cheese made with local milk.
The cheesemaker's Leelanau Reserve was also a winner. That cheese was awarded gold.
Idyll Farms in Northport received silver awards for three hand-crafted goat cheeses – Idyll Pastures, Idyll Pastures Fennel Pollen, and Spreadable Idyll Pastures; and a bronze award for Idyll Pastures with Garlic and Herb.
Leelanau Cheese Co. is majority owned by Mark and Amy Spitznagel, of Idyll Farms, and operated by managing partners and cheesemakers, Gary Smith and Joshua Hall,
"A big part of winning this award is recognizing that we have access to the best milk the USA has to offer," said Gary Smith. "Brinks Creamery, DeVor Dairy Farm and Creamery, and Norwood Centennial Farms are integral parts of our success at Leelanau Cheese Company. It’s impossible to make high quality cheese without high quality milk!"
Since 2014, Idyll Farms has won 35 American Cheese Society awards (more than any other goat cheese producer in 2017, 2019 and 2022), nine World Championship Cheese Awards, five U.S. Championship Cheese Awards, eight World Cheese Awards and a Good Foods Award. In 2021, they opened the first and only goat cheese vending machine in the world in the village of Northport.
"We are delighted to have won four more awards at this year’s World Cheese Awards for our fresh, Idyll Pastures line," said Amy Spitznagel. "Throughout the decade of producing cheese, we have proven ourselves to be competitive on an international scale. We pride ourselves on making the healthiest and tastiest G.O.A.T. cheese while improving the planet by using regenerative farming practices."