Leitrim farmhouse cheesemaker wins Hat-trick of Honours at CÁIS 2024 Irish Cheese Awards

Leitrim Farmhouse Cheesemaker, Leitrim Hill Creamery, picked up a hat-trick of honours last week at the 2024 Irish Cheese Awards during a prestigious ceremony hosted by CÁIS, the Association of Irish Farmhouse Cheesemakers, at Kilshane House in Tipperary on Wednesday, April 24. 

It was a day to remember for Drumcong-based cheesemaker as the first-time entrants to the Awards took home a Gold and two Bronzes.

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, which was undertaken by a high-caliber 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 to select this year's worthy winners.

Leitrim Hill Creamery's 'Sliabh An Iarainn' cheese was named the winner (Gold award) of the 'Fresh/Soft Cheese (Buffalo, Cow, Sheep, Mixed Milk)' category. 

The cheese, which takes its name from the wild and rugged 'Iron Mountain' in Leitrim, is a soft raw goat's and cow's milk cheese made using their own goat's milk plus raw cow's milk from local farmer Patrick Bradley. It is light and salty in flavour and mousse-y in texture. It also picked up a Bronze in the 'Raw Milk Cheese' category. 

Another of their cheeses, Aghaslane, also took home a Bronze - this time in the 'Soft/Semi-Soft Bloomy Rind Cheese' category.

Leitrim Hill Creamery is a thriving goat enterprise managed by Lisa Gifford, her daughter Gypsy Gifford, and her wife Richelle South on their smallholding in Drumcong.

Aged 75, Head of operations, Lisa - who grew up in the U.S. - decided to move from Serbia (where she was living and had learnt how to make goat's cheese) to Leitrim in December 2016 to fulfil a lifelong dream of coming back to the home county of her grandparents. 

By January 2017, she had acquired some goats and a herd number, and began making cheese for herself and her neighbours as she felt it was a great way to connect with her community and keep herself busy.

Her daughter, Gypsy, previously Corporate Chef of Disney Studios and Assistant Professor at The Culinary Institute of America, had always been passionate about working with farmers and using artisan products to create real food that nourishes the soul.

Richelle and her wife loved Lisa's goat's cheese so much that they decided to join her in Ireland in 2021 and built a cheesemaking facility at Leitrim Hill in an old hay barn. 

The trio has subsequently expanded their business with a retail outlet, The Hidden Corner Cheese Shop, which opened in Carrick-On-Shannon in December last year.

Leitrim Hill Creamery's award-winning cheeses are available to purchase from The Hidden Corner Cheese Shop in Carrick-On-Shannon and from other leading retailers and independent food stores throughout Ireland.

Speaking about how the Irish Cheese Awards positively affect the long-term future and success of Irish Farmhouse Cheesemaking and the impact it has on individual artisan producers, Chair of CÁIS, Tom Dineen of Bó Rua Farm, said: "Celebrating excellence at the Irish Cheese Awards not only honours our rich heritage, but also propels us towards a vibrant future. 

"By acknowledging and commending the dedication of individual cheesemakers, these awards ignite innovation, enhance standards, and nurture a thriving community of Irish cheesemakers. Together, we are forging a legacy of quality and sustainability, securing the lasting success of Irish farmhouse cheesemaking for generations to come."

The CÁIS 2024 Irish Cheese Awards were proudly Sponsored by Bord Bia, Traditional Cheese Co, Sysco, Ornua, and Horgan's Delicatessen Supplies and supported by Sheridans Cheesemongers, Teagasc, and Irish Cheese Direct.