Grand Dairy Awards finalists announced

After tasting 380 Australian dairy products, judges of the Australian Grand Dairy Awards have announced the 2024 finalists from across the nation.

The finalists represented each Australian state, proving that quality dairy comes from all corners of the country, with 35 producers of cheese, ice cream, milk, yoghurts, butter, gelatos and more shortlisted as finalists.

Victoria and Tasmania each had seven finalists across the cheese categories, including blue cheese, white mould and semi-hard. South Australia has taken a clean sweep of the unripened cheese category.

In the ice cream and gelati category, Queensland is dominating with five out of the six finalists producing in the state. The Standard Market Company, last year’s winning ice cream producer, has taken out three finalist spots for 2024.

In the yoghurt category, producers from Western Australia have proven popular, while New South Wales claimed six of the nine finalist spots in the milk categories.

The awards, now in their 25th year, recognise quality, excellence and the refined skills of local Australian dairy producers.

All products that qualified for the awards by winning gold medals at state competitions were put through a judging process with 16 experts testing flavour, aroma, texture, body and appearance to identify the finest products across 18 categories.

Russell Smith, dairy educator, and Mark Livermore led the panel of judges, technical experts and flavour specialists as chief judge and deputy chief judge.

“We’re thrilled to announce the impressive line-up of 2024 finalists and pay recognition to the talented Australians who dedicate their time, passion and skill to producing high-quality dairy foods for Australia and the rest of the world to enjoy,” Smith said.

“As we have come to expect, the quality of products presented for judging was exceptional. Many old favourites have re-established their place among the best of the best, with new products also impressing.”

The awards ceremony will take place in February where category Champions will be announced and the highest-scoring product from both the overall dairy and cheese categories will be crowned as the Grand Champions.

In the Cheddar Cheese category, the finalists were: Bega Cheese for its Bega Farmers Tasty; TasFoods Limited for its Pyengana Dairy Traditional Cloth Matured Cheddar; and Beston Global Food Company for its Farmer’s Tribute Vintage Cheddar.

The finalists in all the categories can be viewed at www.dairy.com.au/agda2024finalists.

Image credit: iStock.com/baibaz