Food products The best Swiss cheeses honored in Lugano

Two cheeses from French-speaking Switzerland and one from German-speaking Switzerland are the best in the country. They were selected from over 1100 products by an international jury in Lugano on Friday and received the Swiss Cheese Award.

At the 13th Swiss Cheese Awards, the 37-member jury selected the best Swiss cheeses in the categories of extra-hard/hard cheese, semi-hard cheese and soft/fresh cheese, as detailed in a press release. The following three cheeses can now call themselves Swiss Champions and are therefore the official Swiss champions.

This year, 1127 cheeses were judged in 32 categories. That is a record. First, the best cheese in each category was determined. In a second step, three Swiss champions for extra-hard and hard, semi-hard and soft and fresh cheeses were chosen from these.

This trio includes two cheeses from western Switzerland: Le Brigand du Jorat from the Saint-Cierges cheese dairy in Vaud and Vacherin Mont d'Or AOP from the André SA cheese dairy in Romanel-sur-Morges, also in Vaud. Gruyère AOP from the German-speaking Lanthen cheese dairy in the canton of Fribourg is the third cheese to be selected.

They were tested by jurors, more than 150 experts from the cheese industry and gastronomy as well as journalists and consumers from a dozen countries. A pre-selection took place in Bern at the end of September.

The next edition of the Swiss Cheese Award is planned for 2026 and will take place in Fribourg, a region known for its Gruyères and Vacherins.