The 2016 Australian Grand Dairy Awards Champions have been announced, with Bulla Crme Fraiche being named the Grand Champion Dairy Product and Heidi Farm taking out the Grand Champion Cheese for its classic Gruyere.
Now in its 17th year, the awards are convened by Dairy Australia, and recognise and reward Australia’s top producers.
Nineteen different dairy products took home a Champion title at the awards ceremony, held in Melbourne on 3 February.
Dairy experts Neil Willman and Russell Smith led a panel of judges, including technical experts, flavour specialists, chefs and cheesemongers, over two days of judging 300-plus dairy products on flavour, aroma, texture, body and appearance.
“An extremely thorough judging procedure is employed to determine the very best cheese and dairy in the country. Only manufacturers of gold medal-winning products that are made from Australian milk and have already been through a rigorous judging process at Australian qualifying competitions are invited to enter the annual Australian Grand Dairy Awards,” said Willman.
The 2016 Champions are:
- CREAM
Bulla Crme Frache (and Grand Champion Dairy Product)
- MILK
Harvey Fresh Free Range Full Cream Milk
- BUTTER
Western Star Original Butter
- FRESH UNRIPENED
Floridia Ricotta
- SPECIALITY WHITE MILK
Pauls Smarter White Milk
- FLAVOURED MILK
Norco Real Iced Chocolate Ultimate
- DAIRY DIPS
Paradise Beach Purveyors Smoked Trout and Chives Dip
- WHITE MOULD
Flinders Estate Ash Brie
- BLUE CHEESE
King Island Dairy Black Label Triple Cream Blue
- WASHED/MIXED RIND CHEESE
King Island Dairy Stormy Washed Rind
- FLAVOURED CHEESE
Green Valley Dairy Yoghurt Cheese Balls in Chilli Oil
- NATURAL YOGHURT
Mundella Greek Natural Yoghurt
- FLAVOURED YOGHURT
Ruby & Roy’s Yoghurt Divine Vanilla Bean
- ICE CREAM
Dooley’s Premium Chocolate Ice Cream
- GELATO
Cow and the Moon Pannacotta with Strawberry and Balsamic Ripple Gelato
- SEMI HARD & EYE
Heidi Farm Gruyere (and Grand Champion Cheese)
- HARD CHEESE
South Cape Parmesan
- CHEDDAR
Bay of Fires Cloth Bound Cheddar
- GOAT, SHEEP & BUFFALO MILK CHEESE
Meredith Dairy Chvre
Amanda Menegazzo, convener of the Australian Grand Dairy Award, said “The varied range of this year’s winning products shows a real shift in Australia’s taste buds, and we’re extremely impressed with the diversity of this year’s Champions. From small family owned producers such as Fowlers Cheese, who operate out of a converted six-metre-long shipping container amongst the forest of Tasmania's north-east coast, through to some of our well-known and loved supermarket brands, our Champions are an excellent representation of what Australian dairy has to offer.”
