Rathkenny cheesemaker scoops two honours at CÁIS 2024 Irish Cheese Awards

Rathkenny Cheesemaker, Boyne Valley Farmhouse Cheese, scooped two 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 Co. Tipperary on Wednesday April 24th.

The Rathkenny-based cheesemaker took home Gold and Silver awards.

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.

Boyne Valley Farmhouse Cheese’s ‘Boyne Valley Bán’, a white goat’s cheese similar in style to the French Tomme, was named the winner (Gold award) of the ‘Hard/Semi-Hard Cheese Under 6 Months’ category.

The cheesemaker’s second award win came in the same category, with their ‘Rathkenny’ cheese - named after the location of their farm - picking up a Silver.

Rathkenny is aged a little longer and is more in the ‘Gouda Style’ of cheeses, with a waxy rind; pleasantly sharp and salty, it has a real goaty tang.

Michael and Jenny Finegan established Boyne Valley Farmhouse Cheese in 2010 on their family farm in Rathkenny, Co. Meath. Michael is a third generation farmer in partnership with his father.

They farm cattle, tillage and dairy goats outside Slane in the heart of the Boyne Valley. After setting up their dairy goat business in 2008 to supply Glenisk with milk, they quickly decided they wanted to produce their own product too. Milking 250 goats - a mix of Saanen, Alpine, Toggenburg and Anglo Nubian breeds - meant they had plenty of milk that could be used to create something special, and that is where the idea of making their own cheese was born.

Since 2010 their cheese business has gone from strength-to-strength. The first product made was Boyne Valley Blue, a semi-hard blue goats cheese.

In 2016, a 200 year-old stone building on the farm was converted into a cheesemaking facility. allowing the business to grow and expand with more cheese being made more efficiently. So, in 2017 a new cheese product was developed, Boyne Valley Bán, making them one of very few Cheesemakers in Ireland to be producing a goat Tomme cheese on a commercial scale. Since its launch, sales of Boyne Valley Bán have outstripped those of their other cheeses.

Sheridans Cheesemongers were also successful at the 2024 Irish Cheese Awards, scooping a double in the Retailer’s section.

‘Drunken Saint’, a cheese made by Wicklow Farmhouse Cheese in collaboration with Sheridans, took home a Gold in the ‘Exclusive Cheeses’ category.

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.”