Winners of the Sydney Royal Cheese and Dairy Produce Show have been revealed, with Bega’s Rindless Vintage Cheese taking out the top honour of Champion Cheese, and Lactalis Australia’s Pauls Farmhouse Gold crowned Champion White Milk.
The competition saw more than 530 entries go under the tastebuds of some of Australia’s most qualified industry judges. This year, 89 per cent of exhibits earning a bronze, silver or gold medal, up from 70 per cent in 2023.
Sydney Royal chair of judges, Tiffany Beer said the level of quality products entered into this year’s competition was ‘outstanding’.
“I was very impressed with the turnout of entries this year and the level of quality presented across all classes was really high. While this is a direct reflection of the good raw materials the Australian dairy industry has been producing, it is also a reflection of the technical production skills and constant development, which results in the consistent quality our local producers are striving for,” said Beer.
Beer added that the Research and Development class had a strong increase in entries this year.
“This class allows judges to assess products that are not yet commercially available but will be in the next 12 months and provide detailed feedback for producers. Having this feedback prior to launching has proven to be beneficial to our dairy producers and will allow them to deliver strong new products to the market.”
Beer said another stand-out was the quality of the non-bovine products delivered this year.
“These classes have shown continued improvement and the range of products available has increased to meet customer interest, especially for traditional products from other areas of the world,” said Beer.
In the non-bovine categories, Berrys Creek Gourmet Cheese’s Riverine Blue won Champion Sheep, Goat, Buffalo or Camel Milk Product, and Queensland's Summer Land Camels took home a full suite of medals, Gold for its Camel Milk, Silver for its Camel Milk Persian Feta, and Bronze for its Camel Milk Powder.
This year’s competition saw entries from across all Australian states with New South Wales accounting for 47 per cent of exhibits and earning a 90 per cent medal strike rate. This was closely followed by Australia’s biggest dairy producers, Victoria which claimed 35 per cent of entries, and scored an 88 per cent medal count.
Tasmania also impressed the judges with 89 per cent of entries winning a medal.
This year all remaining samples from the 2024 Sydney Royal Cheese and Dairy Produce Show were donated to the Addi Road Food Pantry located in Marrickville.
The 2024 Sydney Royal Cheese and Dairy Produce Champions:
Champion Cheese of Show
Bega Cheese Rindless Vintage
Champion Butter
CopperTree Farms Cultured Salted Butter
Champion White Milk
Pauls Farmhouse Gold, produced by Lactalis Australia
Champion Flavoured Milk
Sharma’s Kitchen Milk Badam
Champion Cheddar Cheese
Bega Cheese Rindless Vintage
Champion Specialty Cheese
Berrys Creek Gourmet Cheese Oak Blue
Champion Cow Milk Cheese
Bega Cheese Rindless Vintage
Australian Cheeseboard
Bega Cheese Rindless Vintage
Lactalis Jindi President’s Camembert
Bruny Island Cheese Co. C2
Pecora Dairy Bloomy
Berrys Creek Gourmet Cheese Riverine Blue
Champion Full Cream Ice Cream or Gelato
Gelateria Gondola Nocciola Piemonte
Champion Low/Reduced Fat Ice Cream or Gelato
Cow and the Moon Madagascan Vanilla Bean
Champion Novel Ice Cream or Gelato
Bulla Dairy Foods Creamy Classic Honeycomb Stick
Champion Yoghurt or Cultured Milk Product
Gippsland Dairy Lemon Curd Twist Yogurt, produced by Chobani Australia
Champion Cream
Mungalli Creek Dairy Biodynamic Pouring Cream Organic
Champion Sheep, Goat, Buffalo or Camel Milk Product
Berrys Creek Gourmet Cheese Riverine Blue
