What a friend we have in cheeses

By MATHEW DEARNALEY

Finding the New Zealand Cheese Awards on the top floor of Auckland's Heritage Hotel at the weekend wasn't difficult.

The aroma of 432 varieties of cheese from 23 producers wafted from the hotel's Grand Tearoom, down a 40m corridor, around a corner, and all the way to the main lifts.

Inside the giant ballroom, temperature-controlled for the occasion, teams of white-aproned judges sniffed and nibbled their way around more than a dozen tables festooned with the nation's finest.

Some of the food writers, chefs and cheese merchants even resorted to a judicious squeeze to confirm texture and body, taking care not to be caught disobeying a direction to sample the cheeses without spoiling their appearance.

Running the show was international cheese expert and expatriate New Zealander Juliet Harbutt.

Dubbed a Master of Cheese for her membership of France's exclusive Guilde des Fromagers and co-authorship of The World Encyclopedia of Cheese, she founded the awards in 1994, the same year in which she started a similar contest in Britain, where she has lived for 18 years.

The judges seemed to be having a great time, although television food presenter Peta Mathias and cooking guru Alison Holst agonised at having to choose between a yoghurt and hand-made unsalted butter, both of which they deemed exquisite.

"We decided on the butter, partly because we want to encourage people to make it, because commercial butter gets worse and worse," said Mathias.

Hilton executive chef Geoff Scott, who at 35 is the youngest appointee to such a position in a five-star hotel, lowered his voice to confess towards the end of his first-time judging assignment that he was becoming "all cheesed out".

"I don't want to have cheese for a month and if they serve it at dinner tonight I'm going to run," he said.

But having nurtured an early love of cheese, and being "totally spoiled" by more than two years working in France, he vowed it was in no danger of falling off the Hilton menu.

Seasoned judge, chef and food writer Annabelle White remained in marathon tasting form to the end, pronouncing a winning blue cheese "incredibly more-ish".

"The blue cheeses are the most exciting," she said. "Like children they all have unique personalities, but in the end you have to go with your gut feeling or perhaps go mad."

Her choice was endorsed by Sky City food and beverage manager Brendan Turner and Singapore importer of New Zealand food and wine Jenny Barb. ,

"You start to eat it with your eyes," she said.

"It has a beautiful golden rind and blue evenness through the cheese, a full flavour and intensity and length of after-taste."

Gold medallists in the cheese awards

* Crescent: Dairy Goats Feta, Farmhouse Semi-soft, Farmhouse Mature, Farmhouse with Cumin.

* Kapiti Cheese: Aorangi, Sainte Maure, Mount Hector.

* Karikaas Cheese: Gouda Vintage.

* Mahoe Cheese: Very old Edam, Leidse Mature, Gouda.

* Mainland Products, Eltham: Mainland Mild Cheddar, Ferndale Raclette, * Ferndale Shades of Blue, Ferndale Elsberg.

* Matatoki Farmhouse Cheese: Golden Gouda Vintage.

* Meadowcroft Farm: Meadowcroft Chevre.

* Mercer Cheese: Mercer Ewes Blue.

* Meyer Gouda; Soft Tasty Gouda.

* Puhoi Valley: Bouton dor Golden Brie, Double Cream Brie, Camembert, Camembert Wheel, Anchor Blue Vein Wedge.

* Rangiuru Farm: Rangiuru Goat's Quark, Norsewood Mature.

* River Terrace: River Terrace White.

* Saratoga Dairy Goats: Gladstone Tango.

* Talbot Forest: Talbot Forest Cheddar.

* Whitestone: Waitaki Camembert, Windsor Blue and Windsor Blue Export.

* Zanyzeus: Mozzarella, Ricotta.

The cheeses were marked out of 50 points:

Aroma, flavour and balance: 25.

Texture, body: 15.

Presentation/Appearance: 10.

Gold medals: 46-50 points.