Clawson Farms Triumphs at World Cheese Awards 2025-26

Aged Rutland Red Wins Super Gold and Best British Cheese; Shropshire Blue and 1912 Stilton Earn Silver

Over 5,000 cheeses across 46 nations tasted and tested in a single day

Clawson Farms is proud to announce its outstanding success at the prestigious World Cheese Awards 2025-26, cementing its reputation as one of Britain’s finest cheesemakers. 

The farm’s celebrated Aged Rutland Red claimed a coveted Super Gold Award and was crowned Best British Cheese, a testament to its exceptional craftsmanship and heritage. 

This exceptional cheese, crafted from pasteurised cow’s milk, then hand-buttered, clothbound and matured for up to 12months for a sweet and caramelised flavour impressed an international panel of judges. 

In addition to this remarkable achievement, Clawson Farms also secured Silver Awards for two of its iconic cheeses: Shropshire Blue and 1912 Stilton (highest ranking Stilton in its category), both renowned for their rich flavour profiles and artisanal quality, and with 1912 named after the year the dairy first started making cheese. 

Clawson Farm’s Super Gold winning cheese – Aged Rutland Red (photo: Clawson Farms)

Held in Switzerland for the first time, the competition which took place between 13 and 15 November saw a record-breaking number of entries, with the BernEXPO Festhalle transformed into a cheese-tasting bonanza. 

As one of the most respected competitions in the dairy industry, this year’s awards attracted over 5,200 cheeses from 46 nations. In a rigorous testing process, hundreds of judges including technical experts, buyers, retailers and food writers from every corner of the global cheese community sniffed, tasted and visually inspected every cheese over the course of a single day to find the best of the best. 

Working in teams to identify any cheeses worthy of a Gold, Silver or Bronze award, each team then selected one exceptional cheese to put forward as the Super Gold from their table. These Super Gold cheeses, considered the best in the world, were then judged a second time by the Super Jury of 14 internationally recognised experts, who each selected a cheese to champion in the final round of judging. Clawson Farms’ Super Gold success highlights its commitment to traditional methods, sustainable farming and flavour innovation. 

The winning trio – Clawson Farm’s Aged Rutland Red, Shropshire Blue and 1912 Stilton

“Winning both Super Gold and Best British Cheese for our Aged Rutland Red is an incredible honour,” says Bill Mathieson, Managing Director of Clawson Farms. “These awards reflect the dedication of our team and the passion we put into every wheel of cheese, and celebrates our 90 years of artisan cheese making. We’re thrilled to share this recognition with our loyal customers and cheese lovers worldwide.” 

The world’s biggest cheese stage: over 5,000 cheeses from 46 nations competed in this year’s World Cheese Awards (photo: @switzerlandcheese @guildoffinefood)

A drone’s-eye view of pure perfection: rows and rows of cheeses competing in this year’s awards (credit: @switzerlandcheese @bernexpo @guildoffinefood). 

One of the 14-strong Super Jury - Nick Tsioros from Olympic Cheese in Canada