We've won the best new Irish farmhouse cheese in Ireland !
We had one of those good days at work today, we attended the Irish Farmhouse Cheese Awards in the lovely surrounds of Killshane House in Tipperary. The occasion was The Irish Farmhouse Cheese Awards, which take place every two years. This year 43 Irish Farmhouse Cheese Companies from all over Ireland, entered 171 different cheeses ! Judging took place a few weeks ago, where judges (cheese experts from Ireland and Europe) blind tasted all the cheeses....There were 13 cheese categories and our semi hard Cloonbook Cheese won The Best New Irish Farmhouse Cheese. This means Cloonbook has been judged as the best new cheese to be launched in Ireland in the past 24 months!!
We have only made a few batches of this semi hard cheese, which started as an idea to utilise our empty cheese vat when we weren't making our sheep's milk cheese or our Velvet Cloud yogurt. Cloonbook is made from fresh grass-fed milk from Michael's cousin Domhall's farm in Cloonbook, just a few miles from our own farm. Michael spent many happy hours of his childhood with his uncle Micheál (RIP). milking cows and helping out.
Cloonbook Cheese is matured for a minimum of three months and has a nutty buttery taste, with a natural rind. Currently its only available from our website here, and in a few local shops around Co Mayo. But obviously with this award we aim to change all that !
