Klein River Cheese in Stanford is celebrating an exceptional achievement at the World Cheese Awards, held recently at the Pavilhão Multiusos de Viseu in Viseu, Portugal.
The prestigious event, which saw more than 4 700 cheeses from around the world compete, awarded the company two highly coveted prizes: a Supergold award for its Oak Smoked Stanford and a Bronze award for their Overberg cheese.
The Oak Smoked Stanford, a smoked semi-hard brushed rind Jersey cows’ milk cheese crafted in the traditional Alpine style, stood out from the crowd, securing the title of Best South African Cheese. The judges were impressed by its exceptional quality, which earned it the Supergold award – one of the highest honours at the World Cheese Awards, a competition renowned as the most distinguished in the global cheese industry.
“We are inspired by how our hard work and passion gets recognised on a world stage,” said Clement October, head cheesemaker at Klein River Cheese. “We hope this inspires others to pursue work in the artisan food space in South Africa, especially the younger generation.”
The World Cheese Awards saw a record-breaking number of entries this year, with 1 032 companies from 39 countries participating. A total of 240 judges, divided into 104 teams, assessed each entry for criteria such as rind and paste appearance, aroma, texture, body, flavour and mouth feel. The judging process was blind, with only brief descriptions of the cheeses provided to ensure fairness.
The award-winning Oak Smoked Stanford is made in 12 kg wheels with a natural rind and is matured for four months on natural timber.
During this time it is carefully brushed and turned weekly by a team of expert cheese affineurs. The cheese is then cold-smoked with oak shavings for 18 hours using an age-old smoking technique, which imparts a distinctive flavour profile that wowed the judges.
Raymond Siebrits, Managing Director of Klein River Cheese, expressed his pride in the recognition. “Team South Africa brought home such amazing awards this year, and we are humbled that our small business can be seen as being among the best in the world.
“Our Oak Smoked Stanford and Overberg are a true reflection of our provenance and this gives us motivation to keep doing what we love.”
In addition to the Supergold, Klein River Cheese’s Overberg, an aged Gouda-style cheese, earned a Bronze award, further cementing the company’s place among the world’s finest cheese producers.
This victory not only highlights the skill and dedication of Klein River Cheese’s artisans, but also puts South African cheese on the world map. With a growing global reputation, Klein River Cheese continues to inspire others in the artisan food industry, particularly in South Africa, where passion for quality craftsmanship meets world-class recognition.
