A GOAT’S cheese made in county Galway has been named the best in the UK and Ireland.
Killeen Farmhouse Cheese’s Extra Mature Goat’s Cheese was named Supreme Champion at the Artisan Cheese Awards this month.
The gouda-style cheese won great praise from the judges at the annual cheese competition, which is Britain and Ireland’s largest and is now in its 10th year.
Killeen Farmhouse Cheese's Extra Mature Goat’s Cheese was named Supreme Champion at the Artisan Cheese Awards“In over 70 years of eating cheese that has to be one of the most memorable cheeses I have ever tasted,” Dr Matthew O’Callaghan, organiser of the Artisan Cheese Awards and an international cheese judge, said.
“It is certainly the best goat’s cheese in the UK and Ireland,” he added.
“When cut it is brilliant white inside,” Dr O’Callaghan explained.
“The texture is a hard, slightly crunchy feel in the mouth.
“Taste is clean, slightly sweet, nutty, very pleasant and extremely moreish.”
Made by Dutch-born Marion Roeleveld, Killeen’s Extra Mature Goat’s Cheese was originally based on a traditional gouda recipe.
The cheese is made with pasteurised goat’s milk and animal rennet, and aged for between 12 and 18 months.
Marion’s partner, Haske, founded the 50-acre goat farm in Portumna, Co. Galway in 1990, and the couple started making their first cheeses in 2004.
Over the past two decades, Killeen has gone onto become one of the most highly decorated cheesemakers in Ireland.
They are now making cheese from the milk of all 200 goats on the farm.
The winners of the 2026 Artisan Cheese Awards were selected from a record-breaking 643 entries, and confirmed during an event held at St Mary’s Church in Melton Mowbray on May 23.
Elsewhere on the night The Best Irish Cheese trophy was awarded to Templegall from Hegarty’s Cheddar in Whitechurch, Co. Cork.
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