Nine Cork Farmhouse Cheesemakers Honoured At CÁIS 2024. Hegarty’s ‘Templegall’ Retains Title Of ‘Supreme Champion’

Nine Cork Farmhouse Cheesemakers Honoured At CÁIS 2024 Hegarty’s ‘Templegall’ Retains Title Of ‘Supreme Champion’ 

Supreme Champion again for Dan Hegarty (left) with cheese makers Jean-Baptiste Enjelvin
 and Quentin Duboz. Pics by Finbarr O'Rourke

Nine Farmhouse Cheesemakers from across Co. Cork were honoured this week at the 2024 Irish Cheese Awards during a prestigious ceremony hosted by CÁIS, the Association of Irish Farmhouse Cheesemakers, at Kilshane House in Co. Tipperary on Wednesday April 24th. Between them they took home a total of fourteen awards - the most of any county. 

The biennial celebration of Ireland’s farmhouse cheesemakers, now in its tenth year, named winners across seventeen distinct categories, culminating in naming one winner as this year’s ‘Supreme Champion’. This followed a rigorous judging process that was undertaken by a high calibre panel of Irish and international cheese experts at Teagasc’s Ashtown Food Research Centre last month.

Together, the thirteen judges tasted 175 different cheeses produced by forty-three businesses located across the island of Ireland; from Dart Mountain to Durrus, and Arklow to Aillwee Cave. Each cheese was individually scored on aroma, flavour, body, texture, and overall appearance in order to select this year’s worthy winners.

Cork’s Hegarty’s ‘Templegall’ Named Overall ‘Supreme Champion’:

Hegarty’s ‘Templegall Extra Mature’ raw cow’s milk cheese scooped the top award on the day, being named overall ‘Supreme Champion’. This is the second successive ‘Supreme Champion’ win for the Cork-based cheesemaker, having previously taken home the title at the CÁIS 2021 Irish Cheese Awards.

Named after the village of Whitechurch just outside Cork city where it is made - “An Teampall Geal” in Irish - Hegarty’s Templegall Extra Mature is a hard alpine style cheese which has been specially developed by farmer Dan Hegarty with the assistance of French cheesemakers, Jean-Baptiste Enjelvin and Quentin Duboz.

Templegall Extra Mature is made using raw milk from Hegarty’s pedigree Friesian herd, producing an unpasteurised cheese in 40kg wheels that has to be brushed three times a week in order to maintain the rind of the cheese in peak form. The cheese is then aged for a minimum of eighteen months to allow time for it to develop its deliciously complex flavour profile with fruity yet earthy tones, and hints of nuts and straw.

As well as being named ‘Supreme Champion’, this year’s standout cheese was also awarded a Gold in the ‘Raw Milk Cheese’ category, with Hegarty’s rounding off a hugely successful day by picking up a Bronze for their Cheddar Cheese in the ‘Mature Farmhouse Cheddar Aged Over 12 Months’ category.

Templegall Extra Mature is available to purchase online for nationwide delivery via Hegarty Cheese’s website, www.hegartycheese.ie, as well as from leading independent food stores and retailers throughout the island of Ireland.

Commenting on his pride at retaining the ‘Supreme Champion’ title, Dan Hegarty said: "We're absolutely thrilled to have retained the Supreme Champion title. A special mention should go to the 150 cows we have back home who are in for milking at the moment as without them none of this success would be possible. 

What makes our Templegall Extra Mature cheese so special is that we only make it during the summer months, when the cows are grazing outside and at their happiest, with milk produced in the morning. Having complete control over the entire process, from what the cows eat to when we make it, is what allows us to produce such an outstanding cheese.

Only a glass window separates the milking parlour from the cheesemaking room, so the morning milk goes straight from the milking parlour to the cheese vat, which is only maybe four metres away. There's zero food miles attached to what we produce and we're working with the freshest milk possible.

It's a cooked, pressed cheese that's really difficult to make because it's unpasteurised. It might only take us half a morning to make, but then there's a whole year of careful minding to ensure we achieve the quality of the cheese we're looking for."

Other Cork-based Award Winners:

Other notable Cork-based award winners, which were announced by Newstalk’s Bobby Kerr, included Dick & Helene Willems of Coolea Farmhouse Cheese - part of the group of original founding members of CÁIS. The pioneering pair were presented with the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ by iconic Irish Food Writers, John and Sally McKenna, in recognition of their passion and long-term commitment to their craft. The couple first started making cheese from milk produced on their small farm in the beautiful mountains of Coolea in West Cork back in 1979. 

The Willems’ ‘Matured Coolea’ cheese also gained recognition, winning a Gold in the ‘Mature Hard Cheese Aged Over 6 Months’ category. 

In reaction to receiving their Lifetime Achievement award, Coolea Farmhouse Cheese’s Dick & Helene Willems said: "We're both extremely grateful and proud of this award, and feel incredibly honoured to have been acknowledged in this way.

As one of the founding members, we're hugely thankful for the opportunities that being a part of the Association over the last 40 years has given us to work with, and for, so many fantastic Farmhouse Cheesemakers all over Ireland. Go raibh míle maith agat, CÁIS."

Other category winning cheese’s (Gold award) included ‘Durrus Cheese’ (in the ‘Washed Rind Cheese - Semi Soft’ category) and Toons Bridge Dairy’s ‘Smoked Scamorza’ (in the ‘Smoked Cheese’ category).

Cork-based 2024 Irish Cheese Award Winners:

Supreme Champion: Hegarty’s Cheese, Whitechurch, Co. Cork - ‘Templegall Extra Mature’

Food Writer, John McKenna (left), presenting the 'Lifetime Achievement' Award to Dick & Helene Willems of Coolea Farmhouse Cheese at the 2024 Irish Cheese Awards. Pics by  Finbarr O'Rourke Photography 

Lifetime Achievement Award:

Dick & Helene Willems: Coolea Farmhouse Cheese

Category Winners (Gold Awards):

Raw Milk Cheese (All Styles and Milk Types): Hegarty’s Cheese, Whitechurch, Co. Cork - ‘Templegall Extra Mature’

Washed Rind Cheese (Semi Soft, All Milk Types): Durrus Cheese, Coomkeen, Co. Cork -  ‘Durrus Cheese’

Smoked Cheese (All Milk Types): Toons Bridge Dairy, Toonsbridge, Co. Cork - ‘Smoked Scamorza’

Mature Hard Cheese Aged Over 6 Months (All Milk Types): Coolea Farmhouse Cheese, Coolea, Co. Cork - ‘Coolea Matured’

Silver Awards:

Washed Rind Cheese (Semi-Soft, All Milk Types): Durrus Cheese, Coomkeen, Co. Cork - ‘Durrus Óg’

Fresh/Soft Cheese (Buffalo, Cow, Sheep, Mixed Milk): Macroom Buffalo Cheese, Macroom, Co. Cork - ‘Macroom Bocconcini’

Soft Cheese (Flavour Added): Dottie & Dora, Donoughmore, Co. Cork - ‘Dottie and Dora Soft Goat Cheese (Peppercorn)’

Bronze Awards:

Fresh/Soft Cheese (Buffalo, Cow, Sheep, Mixed Milk): Macroom Buffalo Cheese, Macroom, Co. Cork - ‘Buffalo Mozzarella’

Soft Cheese (Flavour Added): Ardsallagh Farmhouse Cheese, Carrigtohill, Co. Cork - ‘Ardsallagh Cranberry Roulade’

Washed Rind Cheese (Semi-Soft, All Milk Types): Milleens Cheese, Beara. Co. Cork - ‘Milleens’

Hard Cheese Flavour Added): Carrigaline Farmhouse Cheese, Carrigaline. Co. Cork - ‘Dillisk Seaweed Cheese’

Mature Farmhouse Cheddar Aged Over 12 Months (All Milk Types): Hegarty’s Cheese, Whitechurch. Co. Cork - ‘Hegarty's Cheddar’

Retailer Awards

Also proudly representing Co. Cork in the Retailer’s section of the 2024 Irish Cheese Awards were Bandon Vale Farmhouse Cheese Company, whose ‘Vintage Red Cheddar’ won a Gold for SuperValu Signature Tastes in the ‘Cheddars Retail & Creamery’ category.

In the same section, another of Bandon Vale Farmhouse Cheese Company’s cheeses, ‘Extra Mature Drinagh Cheddar’, scooped a Bronze for Dunnes Stores Simply Better, with Aldi Ardagh Additions’ ‘Black Pepper Flavoured Cheddar Slices’, produced for them by Carbery Group, picking up the Silver.

Dunnes Stores Simply Better were also awarded a Silver for Coolea Farmhouse Cheese’s ‘Coolea Mature’ Cheese in the ‘Semi Hard/Hard Cheese’ category.

Gubbeen Farmhouse Cheese’s ‘Gubbeen Cheese’ secured a Silver award for SuperValu Signature Tastes in the ‘Soft/Semi-Soft Cheese’ Retailer’s category. 

And, West Cork Creamery’s cheese, ‘Bookers Vintage’, landed Sheridans Cheesemongers a Bronze in the Retailer’s ‘Exclusive Cheeses’ category.

The full list of this year’s winners covering all Gold, Silver, and Bronze Awards is available to view online via the CÁIS website, www.irishcheese.ie.  

Pandemic or Recession, the Blair Boys never shirk a challenge

 Pandemic or Recession, the Blair Boys never shirk a challenge 

The Blairs Boys never shirk a challenge. Their family owned country inn near Cloghroe has, like many restaurants, been ambushed and battered by pandemics and rising costs, yet Duncan and Richie have come up fighting, still cooking and serving the good stuff, seasonal comforting food these bleak December days.

But leave your bleakness at the door, as they do. Lots of smiles and chats in here as regulars know. And of course they have craft beer, a full menu of it. Indeed, they were one of the pioneers (not the kind with the badge) of local beer, matching it with their local produce. On the current list, brewers such as West Kerry, Blacks of Kinsale, West Cork Brewing and 9 White Deer are highlighted.

The Stag Gluten Free Stout by 9 White Deer has been a big hit here over the years and was one of our drinks during the visit. The other was their Kölsch, a summer favourite of ours. Not summer now but the Blairs fire was warm and the beer went down a treat. Also spotted the new 9 White Deer Export Stout 7.4% (Stout Aged in Blackwater whiskey casks in West Waterford) and that came home with us. We were advised to hold on to it for a while!

We had arrived just as they opened at 1.00pm last Thursday and so did quite a few others and Christmas was very much in the air when a large group of customers came together. And there was plenty of warming food to choose from.

Starters included Soup of the Day with Potato Flatbread; Tartlet of Ardsallagh Goats Cheese, creamed leeks and a beetroot chutney; and Garlic Wild Mushrooms with potato flatbreads. Our pick, available in small and large portions, was the West Cork Whiskey Wings with a Cashel Blue dip and potato flatbreads. Superb flavours from a warming dish ideal for the zero degree weather outside in the valley.

Mains on offer included Roast Half Chicken with all the trimmings including roasties; Angus Beef Burger with cheese, gherkins and house sauce and with skin-on wedges; Roast stuffed loin of Timoleague Pork with all the trimmings with roasties of course!; a seasonal Veggie Pie, topped with Cheddar cheese mash; Thai Green Chicken Curry with steamed rice.

My pick was the Cottage Pie of ground beef topped with creamy mash and a side salad, another comforting warm blast against the cold! But I think, on the basis of a spoon or two, that CL was the winner here with a tempting looking Fisherman's Pie of fresh fish topped with smoked Hegarty’s Cheese and dill mash. It looked tempting mostly because, unusually, the chunky fish pieces were floating around an island of the tasty mash. Something different but very satisfying indeed. Just like everything else on the menu, this was comfort food at its best, perfect for the weather this time of year.

This one came home!

Finished off with a chat with the brothers and wished them luck for the months ahead. But those two know you make your own luck where the main ingredient is hard work. Their loyal local customers know that too and, combined, that’s a solid foundation for whatever pestilence or economic woe that may (or may not) lie around the corner.

Taste of the Week. Cully & Sully's Tempting Tomato Risotto

Taste of the Week

Cully & Sully's Tempting Tomato Risotto

Lots of good things to eat at the weekend's Ballymaloe Grainstore's May Fair. No surprise with that and no surprise either that we found our current Taste of the Week at the Cully & Sully stall.

Of course, they had their famous soups on display but we were directed, in the best possible manner, to try their range of risottos: Tempting Tomato, Charming Chicken and Moreish Mushroom.

To make a long story short, we arrived home with a bagful and, having tasted a couple in Ballymaloe, were keen to try one in earnest and in full. 

We had eaten well around the Fair so didn't need a full dinner. So we made the Tempting Tomato the centrepiece of our supper, adding a variety of leaves from the garden, some artichoke globe quarters container bought from Olives West Cork via Neighbourfood, and some superb sourdough from the Grumpy Bakers (also bought at the May Fair). Some EVOO was added as was some of Hegarty's new Ballinvarrig cheese (we had no Parmesan in the house!) was grated (very finely) on top.

As expected, the Risotto was a winner and instantly declared our Taste of the Week. Now looking forward to trying out the Mushroom and Chicken.

Lots more info and recipes from Cully & Sully here.

* One pack of the risotto makes a meal for one, or if shared, a meal for two with the addition of other bits and pieces such as detailed above.

A Simply Better Continental Cheese Selection.

Continental Cheese Selection

From Simply Better By Dunnes Stores

Gorgonzola Piccanta

A Christmas present of cheese put me thinking of a Swiss holiday and an excursion to the town of Gruyères, and aliens! There were fabulous views, a church, a chateau, and the famous cheese!

There was also a strange museum – based on the film Alien. The HG Giger Museum is based on the work of the graphic artist of the same name, who did the special effects for the film and others (such as Poltergeist 11).

This way for cheese!

A similarly themed bar is adjacent and it was here that we had coffee and minuscule meringues made with Gruyère. Then a short drive downhill to an “industrial” cheese manufacturer where a robot is usefully employed turning, watering and replacing big wheels of cheese in the racks.

Gruyère was included in Continental Cheese Selection by Simply Better Dunnes Stores at Christmas and it was quite a pleasant and tasty surprise, not least because some were “new” to me, as the vast majority of the cheese eaten here in this house over the past few years has been Irish. 

Babies in the bar.
G'us a drink, now!

So it was nice to see and taste what is going on the continent. And there was a good bit of variety in the selection. There were two fairly familiar cheeses, the Gruyère and the Gorgonzola. The other two were completely new to me, the soft rind Langres from Champagne and the L’Edel de Cleron from Franche-Comte. Also included was a little jar of Fig and Macadamia Nut Chutney from Girona in Spain; the nuts from Australia the all-spice from Jamaica.

One day last week, we made a fruitless run to try out the Cork Marina Market again but the large car park was full and lots of pedestrians coming in as well, plenty of  families around with schools still on hols. Quite a gang already eating out on benches under the full sun. We had to beat a retreat. 

What now for lunch? I thought of this selection and we opened the L’Edel de Cleron produced by Jean Perrin. I was reading about it and saw that Perrin makes it with milk from Jura Mountain Montbéliarde cows, the same milk used for Mont D’Or (both are wrapped in spruce bark). 

In the belly of the beast! Inside the pub in Gruyeres

So we heated up the cheese in its little round box and, when warm and soft, scooped it out with fingers of toast. Very delicious indeed, lusciously creamy and it vanished very quickly. Just the job though for lunch and I drizzled some of local honey (Leamlara) onto the last few scoops and that added to the pleasure.

Langres Cathedral

Langres is named after a little town in Champagne and is distinguished by a wee hollow on top of its small drum shape designed to hold a tiny pool of brine while maturing. Our producer, Fromagier Schertonleib,  went a spirited step beyond and this is matured with Marc de Champagne!  A touch of class.

It is a cows milk cheese with an edible orange coloured rind. It is creamy and smooth and melts on the palate. There is a delicate pungent aroma while the flavour is light, though the intensity of aroma and flavour can change as it matures. It is excellent on its own or when used in cooking.

By the way, we did use the multi-national chutney with all the cheeses (plus some Hegarty’s Cheddar that we had in the fridge) and it was excellent. The versatile Spiced Plum and Port Jam (by The Big Red Kitchen) also saw plenty of use and really starred with the Gorgonzola, as did the lovely Toro Albalá Marqués de Poley Oloroso (from O'Briens Wine).

Gorgonzola (via Pixabay)

Speaking of Gorgonzola, this Piccante Gorgonzola (AOP) was produced by the Arrigoni family in Lombardy, a region where nowadays the famous blue is made mostly in commercial plants. It traditionally has a white moist paste with green/blue veining and a sharp lactic smell.

The chateau at Gruyeres

Our Piccante has a beautiful smooth texture and a rich spicy flavour - so little bits are best! The rind is inedible. There are two types of this cheese, Piccante (savoury) and Dolce (sweet), with the latter (less blue-veined with a more delicate taste) representing some 90% of the production (ref: The Oxford Companion to Cheese).

French Onion soup with Gruyère (at Market Lane)

And the Gruyère? Characteristics of this famous Swiss cheese are its dry, firm and chewy texture and a moderately tangy flavour and with a nutty sweet finish - no need for any chutney here. A good one for the cheeseboard and a superb cooking cheese. The rind by the way is inedible.

Ours, a 15-month cave aged cheese, is made in traditional copper vats by the Margot family in the heart of the Jura Mountains and it is slowly matured in caves. The texture is firm and smooth and the flavour is rich and intense. 

Hegarty's copper vat

Gruyère is made mainly from Holstein milk and its long-time cross-mountain rival Comté (or Gruyère de Comté) from Montbeliarde. Just a few miles north of my house in Cork lies Whitechurch where Hegarty’s make a superb Templegall that can rival the Swiss and French; they use milk from their Freisians and, yes, they make it in a beautiful copper vat (over 60 years old).

Taste of the Week. Irish Cheese

Taste of the Week.
 Irish Cheese

Lots of Irish cheese enjoyed these past few months, thanks to the delivery service of Neighbourfood. On the Pig's Back are regular suppliers and most, if not all these cheeses, have come from the Douglas outfit. I could do a Taste of the Week with each but took this shortcut instead! Just gives an idea of the marvellous cheese we have in this country. And there are so many more!

Crozier. Also had the original Cashel Blue. Cashel is cows milk while Crozier is sheeps.

Gubbeen

Coolea came via the Roughty Fruity selection in the English Market.