(SOUNDBITE OF LAURENT DURY'S "SMOOTH RETURN")
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
And after days of tasting and sniffing by 265 judges, we have a winner.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: It is our pleasure to share with you that the World Champion Cheese for 2025 is the Bergkaserei Vorderfultigen Gruyere AOP Spezial from Switzerland.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Woo.
(APPLAUSE)
SIMON: Glad I didn't have to say it. That's from the live feed of the World Cheese Awards held in Bern, Switzerland this week.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: People are dancing in the crowd.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
SIMON: It's one of the highest honors in the cheese world, and the winner was a little verklempt.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PIUS HITZ: It's a very honor for our daily hard work - seven days, 365 days a year.
UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: Yes.
HITZ: And it's very...
(APPLAUSE)
HITZ: ...An honor.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: Overwhelming.
HITZ: Thank you very much.
SIMON: One Judge gushed about the gruyere's beautiful crystalline texture, the kind of cheese that would, quote, "make people get excited about cheese," as if we weren't excited already. The gruyere beat out more than 5,000 competitors from 46 countries. And while there are other international cheese competitions, organizers say this is the largest cheese-only event in the world. The competition drew thousands of spectators, but it wasn't for the faint of nose. Descriptors of the entrance included terms like sick dog and stinky socks. Yum. We should add that while most of the top cheeses were from Europe, there was one American cheese among the finalists - Murray's Stockinghall cheddar from upstate New York. Can't wait to try it.
(SOUNDBITE OF LAURENT DURY'S "SMOOTH RETURN") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
