Our Archies are showstoppers and they take any chance they get to amplify the voices of young people in agriculture.
So you can imagine they jumped at the chance to have a night and mix with the champions of great cheese and dairy
The Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion Archies from the 2019 Archibull Prizewere special guests at the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW (RAS) Cheese and Dairy Awards night held at the Sydney Showgrounds on February 24.
“Being an agricultural based event, I sought to make sure this aspect was not lost in the glitz and glamour of the final theming on the night,” RAS Coordinator for Dairy Produce and Fine Food Chloe Conder says. “I wanted to celebrate the winning products of the 2020 Sydney Royal Cheese and Dairy Produce Show, but also pay tribute to where these products originate and how they came to be available for consumers to purchase. I selected the colourful wool cow to fit in with my “forest” theme of the night, and the dairy farm cow for obvious reasons being the Cheese & Dairy Show!”
Winning the coveted title of Champion Cheese of Show was Berrys Creek Gourmet Cheese’s Riverine Blue. Berrys Creek Gourmet Cheese has been a multiple recipient of this award over the last decade, proving they understand the palette of their consumers.
“Winning the Sydney Royal Champion Cheese is a great honour and proves to us we are doing something right,” owner and cheesemaker Barry Charlton says. “We have such a dedicated staff, great quality milk and to win this award also helps us to keep growing as a business. It’s quite overwhelming but at the end of the day it really does come down to our wonderful staff.”
Cheese and dairy competitions have been an important part of the RAS for over 150 years, celebrating products including cheese, milk, butter, dairy dessert, gelato and ice cream created from bovine milk as well as sheep, goat, camel and buffalo milk. This year the prestigious competition attracted 799 entries with 117 awarded gold medals. 180 people attended the presentation night.
“The cows were placed on either side of the entry inside the venue, so were on display for all attendees to see as they entered the event,” Chloe says. “They were very well received on the night, with many attendees taking the time to inspect the intricate work and design with some even posing for photos.”
See the full list of cheese and dairy winners here, and add them to your shopping list – you won’t be disappointed.