what if the best cheese in the world were the one that made their hearts sing?

the guild of fine foods, world cheese awards

4,502 cheeses representing 43 countries including poland, india, liechtenstein, turkey. 264 experts from 38 nations worked in teams of 2 or 3 awarding bronze, silver, and gold awards. each team chose just one cheese from their table as super gold. 4,502 cheeses were distributed across 100 tables, each table offering a wildly diverse array of styles - different milks, sizes, rinds, ages! each cheese is evaluated on its own merits!

of course they judges assess the look, feel, smell and taste of the cheese, the rind and paste, the aroma, body, and texture, but each team awards their super gold to the cheese they find exceptional.

exceptional. these 100 cheeses are the best in world because they are exceptional — not perfect, not closest to the standard, but exceptional.

there are also super judges!  (that will have to be another entry…) the super jury judges the super golds again, each choosing a cheese to champion.  in the end one is able to convince the others that the cheese that made their heart sing should be named best in the world.  

how about that?  i sob every time.