Award to honour the big cheese

Dublin: More than 100 varieties of farmhouse cheeses produced in Ireland are achieving retail sales of €7 million.

This was revealed with the news that a large entry has been received for the new Irish Farmhouse Cheesemaker of the Year Award at IFEX, the international food, drink and catering exhibition, which will be held at the RDS during May 27-29.

The new award will recognise the excellence and skills of Irish farmhouse cheese makers. Over the years, the event has helped to launch many new Irish cheeses into international markets. IFEX chairman Bill Hodges said Irish farmhouse cheese production is currently 1,000 tonnes. But there is considerable room for expansion, if some of the 18,000 tonnes of annual imports can be substituted with native produce.