27/05/06
Competition is set to be as fierce as ever in the Great Yorkshire
Cheese & Dairy Competition, which takes place for the fifth
time this year. The event is part of the Great Yorkshire Show,
the region’s largest annual rural and farming event. Held
on the edge of the spa town of Harrogate, last year’s show
attracted a record-breaking crown of 134,810 visitors.
Gillian Hall and Jean Butler of Butlers Farmhouse Cheese who won Supreme Champion Dairy Product Award at the 2005 Great Yorkshire Show. Sir Ken Morrison (centre) presented the award.
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Sponsored once again by Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc, an innovation
for the section this year is a class for Flavoured Milk. This will
be judged by the winning teams from the cheese-judging competitions
at this year’s Countryside Days for primary schools held
at the Showground in June. The Countryside Days event is organised
by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society and is aimed at promoting
rural life to young people.
The Retailer Section, introduced in 2005, returns with own-label
dairy products battling it out for the honours, while the judges
will be hard-pressed to choose the best from amongst the many ice-creams,
butters, milks and yoghurts entered in the various categories.
Taking centre-stage as ever are the cheese classes, and Jayne Hickinbotham
of Dee Dairy Services, one of the show’s organisers, says
the Stilton category could be the one to watch this year.
“After a number of years where the producers of Stilton have
remained the same in number, two new producers have become established
and we hope they will enter. It will also be interesting to see
if the Lancashire cheesemakers capitalise on their recently-raised
profile. A ‘tasty Lancashire from Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses
won Supreme Dairy Product at last year’s show, putting paid
to any thoughts that a cheese from over the Pennines would never
win a major prize in the county of the white rose!”
While winning the title of Supreme Dairy Product is the ultimate
accolade, another hotly-contested trophy is that of Best Yorkshire
Product, sponsored by Wensleydale Dairy Products of Hawes, North
Yorkshire, and won last year by Longley Farm with their Cottage
Cheese & Chives.
“It’s always great to see the range of high-quality
dairy products coming from our own local producers,” says
Jayne. “We’re sure the standard of entries will be
as high as ever and look forward to seeing who takes the awards.”
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