In 2018, the World Cheese Awards festival was held in Bergen, Norway. 4172 cheeses from 41 countries were entered into the competition.
For more than three decades, this competition has been the most significant meeting opportunity for cheese makers around the world, and a prestigious team of international jury members has judged the products. The World Cheese Awards, held at the end of November last year, overruled all previous records regarding both the number of entries and the number of visitors to the event.
Although Norway is not primarily known for its cheeses, Jørn Hafslund, has been producing this Gouda cheese for 12 years by regularly sharing his professional experience a Norwegian producer’s cheese won the World Cheese Award.
The success of the Norwegian farmer was also considered a sensation because he has only 12 cows on his farm, although the circumstances they are kept in are the best possible: they graze in a rocky, wooded forest and drink water from the fjords throughout the summer. They feed on the 14 kinds of grass sown by the farmer, and this determines the taste of Fanaust cheese made from their milk, which, according to the critics, is silky soft, salty and sweet.
Jørn Hafslund has been producing this Gouda-type cheese for 12 years, and regularly shares his professional experience with other Norwegian cheese producers.