8 awards for ukrainian cheeses at the World Cheese Awards 2024

The World Cheese Awards 2024 international cheese competition officially ended on November 15 in Viseu, Portugal. This year 4702 cheeses from the 47 countries of the world were presented, including 27 from Ukraine, according to the official representatives of the competition in Ukraine, Ardis Group.

For the third year in a row, Ukrainian cheeses have received recognition from international cheese experts, and in 2024 it amassed a total of 8 awards.

“Eight awards is a great result at such a large-scale competition. For the third time, we prove that Ukrainian cheeses occupy a worthy place on the world market. Thank you to every cheesemaker for your courage and desire to develop. Such events give a good impetus to improvement, scaling, and finding the target customer”, — comments Oksana Chernova, ProCheese cheese expert from Ardis Group, judge from Ukraine at the World Cheese Awards.

The participation of Ukrainian cheeses in the competition took place with the support of Switzerland within the framework of the Swiss-Ukrainian program Quality FOOD Trade Program and assistance from the Ukraine-Moldova American Enterprise Fund, as well as Ardis Group. 

Silver medals were awarded to: 

• hard cheese «Korona» — «Zinka», Kyiv region
• aromatic cheese  «Lopta» — «Mamyn Syr», Zakarpattia region

Bronze medals were awarded to:

• hard cheese «Kozyachiy z triufelem» — «Mykko», Lviv region 
• hard cheese «Lehenda» — «Dooobra ferma», Kyiv region
• hard cheese «Bikoz» — «Dooobra ferma», Kyiv region 
• hard cheese «Gouda» — «Zinka», Kyiv region
• cheese with white mold «Hoverla» — «Harbusovij Raj», Lviv region 
• semi-hard cheese «Fondi» — «WineTime», Kyiv region 

In total, across three years of participation in this project, Ukrainian cheeses have already won 34 awards.

«World Cheese Awards — is always a challenge for our team, but the results are inspiring. Receiving support from our international partners, becoming representatives of Ukraine at the WCA is the result of many years of work for Ardis Group and Oksana Chernova.  We sincerely rejoice at the recognition of Ukrainian cheeses on the international stage, and the fact that the world has once again made sure that freedom tastes great», — adds Nataliia Kagadiy, head of the ProCheese department from Ardis Group.