The World Cheese Awards were held in Portugal for the first time ever this year. The WCA is known as the largest cheese event in the world—giving it the nickname “the Cheese Oscars.”
The 2024 event was the 36th time the WCA was held, this year in Viseu, Portugal.
Between November 15 and 17, there were cheese and beverage tastings with explanatory notes as well as workshops on cheese and other regional products. There were also eight entertaining cooking sessions featuring Portugal’s top chefs, live music, a Cheese Summit that was free and open to the public, and a gourmet festival. On the weekend, you could take tours led by the WCA staff that allowed you to taste the winning cheeses with the judges. The event also featured producer fairs, product tastings and presentations, wine and cheese pairings, and a host of other activities dedicated to cheese.
But the true highlight is the world’s largest cheese contest, which took place in a huge 2,400-square-meter arena. This year boasted a record number of entries, with 47 countries sending in 4,786 cheeses to be evaluated by a panel of 240 judges from 40 countries. The judges were all experts in the cheese industry, and included technical specialists, cheese evaluators, retailers, buyers, chefs, and journalists.


World Cheese Awards 2024 Guild of Fine Food/Paulo Fernandes
And the cheese selected as the best in the world this year was made in Portugal!
The highest-scoring cheese was Queijo de Ovelha Amanteigado made by Quijaria Quinta do Pomar. The name of the cheese means “buttery sheep’s cheese”.


World Cheese Awards 2024 Guild of Fine Food/Paulo Fernandes
Portugal is a small country, with many different kinds of cheeses. Some of the most distinctive to me are Quijo Fresco and the buttery Queijo Amanteigado that won at the event this year.
Quijo Fresco, as the name suggests, is a raw cheese that’s served before it hardens. It can be made with cow’s, goat’s, or sheep’s milk. Local cafés and shops typically get it in on a specific day each week so that people can eat it fresh. Some Japanese are averse to the raw milk smell, but it actually has a smooth, clean flavor and soft texture reminiscent of freshly-made tofu. A lot of people like to eat it with a little salt and pepper, but I remember my father enjoying it with a dash of soy sauce.
Queijo Amanteigado is a buttery cheese and a classic style made in central Portugal. You cut off the top layer to reveal a paste that’s nearly liquid inside, which is eaten by scooping it out with a spoon. Despite the smooth texture, it has an intense, savory cheese flavor with a hint of bitterness. When you go to buy it, it’s best to press on the belly of the cheese to make sure it has the desired softness. The softer it is, the creamier the cheese inside.


There was one unfortunate incident at the recent World Cheese Awards, when the British cheeses got held up in customs and lost the chance to compete for the world title. The news came that the cheeses did not get through on Friday, the day of the event, and 67 cheesemakers lost the chance to showcase their 252 products.
Importing cheese from the UK has reportedly become incredibly difficult since it left the European Union. It was also ironic that the Guild of Fine Food, which hosts the World Cheese Awards, is actually headquartered in England.
Here’s a link if you’re interested in learning more about the other winners.

https://gff.co.uk/articles/2024/11/spoonable-cheese-from-portugal-named-best-in-the-world/