The Irish handmade cheese has been named one of the top 66 cheeses in the world, after competing against a record 3,021 cheeses from all over the world, including Europe, Mexico, South America, USA and Australia.

The mother-and-son team of Silke and Tom Cropp are showcasing their now world-winning cheese at this year’s biggest-ever five-day National Crafts and Design Fair at the RDS – which opened on Wednesday 30 November and runs until Sunday 4 December.

Handmade in Belturbet using raw, unpasteurised milk from local herds, multi award-winning Corleggy cheeses have been made by the artisan company since 1995.

We believe in the slow food philosophy

“This prestigious international award means a whole lot to us, particularly because we are hoping to expand our export market to speciality cheese shops all over Europe,” said Silke. “We believe in the slow food philosophy. It takes time for wonderful cheeses to develop and now expert judges have ranked us to be among the finest cheeses in the world. We feel that the aroma and taste strike a perfect balance between rich and mild.”

Record-breaking crowds of over 40,000 are expected to generate more than €1m per day in sales at the National Crafts and Design Fair in the RDS.

Five other Irish cheeses were ranked in the next-best Gold category at the World Cheese Awards: St Tola Ash Log, Macroom Buffalo Mozzarella, SuperValu Signature Tastes Gubeen, SuperValu Comte and Cashe Blue.

Macroom Buffalo Mozzarella is made with milk from Johnny Lynch’s farm in Cill na Martra, Co Cork (pictured), the only milking buffalo herd in Ireland.

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