Dutch Beemster cheese crowned best in the world
By Simone Jacobs
A Dutch cheese has been voted the best cheese in the world. The Beemster Royaal Grand Cru beat out over 3.000 cheeses from across the globe to take the gold in the World Championship Cheese Contest.
Dutch cheese takes gold in global competition
From Austria to the United States, cheeses from all over the world competed in the 2026 World Championship Cheese Contest. Of the 3.375 cheeses, the Beemster Royaal Grand Cru made by Cono Kaasmakers in Westbeemster claimed the number one spot with a high score of 98,68 out of a possible 100.
"An extraordinary achievement in a year when our top competitors were separated by only a fraction of a point," said John Umhoefer, director of the competition organiser Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association (WCMA). Two cheeses from Switzerland completed the podium, with the Apenzeller Purple (98,45) and Alter Fritz (98,41) taking second and third place, respectively.
Cheesiest cheese of them all
The Dutch cheesemakers are chuffed with their achievement and see it as a recognition of the hard work they put into making the cheese. "When a cheese scores so highly with an international jury, you know everything is perfect. From the milk, to the cheesemaking process, to the ageing process," Cono Kaasmakers cheese master Sjoerd Hiemstra told AD.
"That a cheese from Beemster has now been declared the best cheese in the world makes us incredibly proud," said general manager Jerry Griep. A total of 25 countries and 34 US states took part in the competition, with the Netherlands winning 12 gold medals for “Best in Class” in various categories.
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Editor for the Netherlands at IamExpat Media. Simone studied Genetics and Zoology at the University of Pretoria in South Africa before moving to the Netherlands, where she has been working as a writer and editor since 2022. One thing she loves more than creating content is consuming it, mainly by reading books by the dozen. Other than being a book dragon, she is also a nature lover and enjoys hiking and animal training.Read more