Feltham’s Farm Organic Cheeses triumphed at the Artisan Cheese Awards 2024, winning Best Organic Cheese for their La Fresca Margarita and securing a Gold in the Fresh Class. The competition was intense, with over 600 cheeses from across the UK and Ireland vying for top honors.
La Fresca Margarita outshone renowned hard cheeses such as Caws Teifi Heritage and Holden Cheese’s Hafod Cheddar to clinch the top spot in the Organic category. This soft cheese, an Organic Queso Fresco, is crafted from the finest single-source organic milk provided by the neighbouring Godminster Farm’s herd in Somerset.
Head Cheesemaker Michael Leech of Feltham’s Farm remarked on the award, saying, “There’s no hiding with such a simple cheese – the quality of the milk is absolutely essential… we hand ladle every pot of this beautiful mousse-like cheese.”
This victory adds to La Fresca Margarita’s impressive accolades. In 2021, it was named Supreme Champion at the Virtual Cheese Awards, surpassing 400 other cheeses. Just last week, it won Best Fresh and Best Sweet Additive Cheese (with Honeyed Fresca) at the same awards.
Owner and Cheesemaker Marcus Fergusson expressed his delight: “People are really coming back to these young fresh un-aged cheeses, and we are delighted that judges are also recognizing how simple cheese is often the hardest to make really well – this win is a tribute to Michael and the cheesemaking team here, as well as our single source milk partners Bruton Dairy and Godminster.”
Pete Cheek, Manager of Godminster Farm, added, “Bruton Dairy and Godminster are delighted to be working with Feltham’s Farm in producing the Best Organic Artisan Cheese in the UK and Ireland – we give our Friesian/Scandinavian/Fleckvieh cows the best Organic herbal leys that give a fresh cheese like La Fresca Margarita that summer lemony flavour…”
