Chapel Hill Creamery judged big cheeses of the fair

Chapel Hill Creamery took top honors in the first-ever N.C. State Fair Cheese Competition.

The dairy’s Calavander asiago cheese won Best of North Carolina and Best of Show, in addition to winning a gold medal for best hard cheese. Chapel Hill Creamery also won gold medals in the Swiss Styles, Mozzarella, Flavored Soft Cheese and Semi-Soft Cheese categories.

Judging took place Oct. 6. A team of four judges rated the cheeses on technical and aesthetic merits using the American Cheese Society’s point system: gold medal, 93-100 points; silver, 86-92; and bronze, 80-85.

Following is a list of honorees by category:

Swiss Styles: Gold medal, Chapel Hill Creamery, Chapel Hill

Mozzarella: Gold medal, Chapel Hill Creamery

Feta: Silver medal, Bonnie Blue Farm, Waynesboro, Tenn.

Silver medal, Prodigal Farm, Rougemont

Silver medal, Bonnie Blue Farm, Waynesboro, Tenn.

Gold medal, Chapel Hill Creamery

Bronze medal, Holly Grove Farms, Goldsboro

Bronze medal, Bonnie Blue Farm, Waynesboro, Tenn.

Silver and bronze medals, Bonnie Blue Farm, Waynesboro, Tenn.

All cheeses in the contest will be available for purchase at the Dairy Artisan Tent during the State Fair, Oct. 13-23. The tent is located in front of the Jim Graham Building.