France wins world's best cheese for first time in 15 years as British entries arrive late to award ceremony

A 24-month-aged comté has claimed the title of the world's finest cheese after the British entries were held up at customs

The hard, mountain-style cheese from the Jura region of eastern France saw off a Swiss alpine entry and a French sheep's milk cheese, which shared second place, to take the crown.

It marks France's first triumph in the World Cheese Awards in 15 years, the last being 2011, when an Ossau-Iraty took the top honour.

The competition, now in its 38th year, is the world's largest cheese-only contest, where 270 judges from 51 nations gathered in Córdoba, Spain, to evaluate a record 5,330 entries from 45 countries across six continents, including India, Japan, Brazil and Mexico.

Jean-Charles Arnaud, the fourth-generation cheesemaker and affineur behind the winning entry, said: "We're very proud, for the milk producers, for the cheesemakers, for the affineurs, for everybody."

His comté is available at a number of retailers across the UK.

Rafael Dominguez, a Spanish cheese specialist who served as one of 14 super judges, told the Telegraph the comté thoroughly deserved its victory.

He said: "It was visually appealing, the smell was brothy, which you expect, and the flavours conquered me. There were so many layers: beautifully nutty, savoury, then a lot of umami, and it lingered for two minutes.

"I wanted a Spanish cheese to win, but I'm happy about the winner. This is an excellent cheese."

British entries fared poorly at this year's competition, with many failing to reach Córdoba in time for judging.

Of those that did make it, none progressed to the final round, which comprised the top 14 cheeses.

The well-known difficulties surrounding exports into the EU were largely to blame, with Spain presenting particular challenges.

Industrial action across the country during the week further compounded the delays.

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It marked a sharp decline from last year's competition, where three British cheeses featured among the final 14.

The Guild of Fine Food, which runs the awards, said it hoped to assess the late arrivals over the following days.

John Farrand, managing director of the Guild of Fine Food, acknowledged the problem directly.

He said: "No-shows on the judging table were clearly evident today, and we know there have been issues with some of the British cheese entries in World Cheese Awards this year.

"The well-documented challenges of exporting into the EU and, in particular, Spain have been compounded this week by strike disruption across the country. We will know more over the next 24 hours."

Organisers announced at the Córdoba ceremony that London will stage the 2027 edition of the World Cheese Awards.

Because host nations often perform well, the move has fuelled optimism that a British cheese could reclaim the title for the first time since 2017.

The traditional powerhouses continued to dominate the upper reaches of this year's competition. Switzerland and Italy each placed four cheeses in the top 14, Spain contributed three, and France two.

Spain has hosted the event four times since 2008, during which it has claimed the top prize three times, matching the tallies of England, Switzerland and Norway.