A Melbourne cheesemaker has taken out the top gong in the Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland (RNA) prestigious Royal Queensland Awards.
Australia’s best beef, lamb, cheese, dairy, ice-cream gelato and sorbet were awarded from a total of 540 entries. The number of cheese and dairy entries in the competition increased by 35 per cent compared to 2024.
Montefiore Cheese from Melbourne — which uses time-honoured Italian recipes — was awarded the Grand Champion Cheese or Dairy Product of Show for their Trecce.
Trecce is a fresh, soft, braided cheese, typically made from cow’s milk.
Meanwhile, the nation’s best ice-cream, gelato and sorbet was taken out by Scoop Gelati Bar from Burleigh on the Gold Coast for its Yuzu Gelato.
Dairy awards chief judge Russell Smith said the grand champion cheese was “phenomenal”, and the standard of entries across the two dairy competitions was very high.
“The Montefiore Trecce was exceptional quality, scoring 19 points, and certainly deserves its grand champion status,” Russell said.
“It’s rare for this type of cheese to win over cheddars and blues, which have more complex flavours, speaking volumes about how excellent it is.”
Ice-cream, gelato and sorbet judge Savannah Sexton said the grand champion gelato was exceptional.
“The Yuzu Gelato was balanced in flavour, very creamy and refreshing, and the acid from the yuzu rounded it out nicely,” she said.
Award winners were:
- Grand Champion Dairy Product of Show (Australia’s best cheese): Montefiore Trecce by Montefiore Cheese Aust Pty Ltd.
- Grand Champion Ice-cream, Gelato or Sorbet of Show (Australia’s best ice-cream): Yuzu Gelato by Scoop Gelati.
- Champion Cow’s Milk Cheese of Show: Montefiore Trecce by Montefiore Cheese Aust Pty Ltd.
- Champion Non-Cow’s Milk Cheese of Show: Floridia Cheese Buffalo Mozzarella by Floridia Cheese Pty Ltd.
- Champion Dairy Dessert or Yoghurt of Show: Maleny Gourmet Passionfruit Yoghurt by Maleny Cheese.
- Dairy Australia Champion Butter, Milk or Cream of Show: Norco Pure Jersey Milk by Norco Foods.
- Champion Buffalo, Goat, Sheep or Other Non-Cow’s Milk Product of Show:atural Sheep Milk Yoghurt by Meredith Dairy.
- Champion Queensland Cheese or Dairy Product of Show: Blackall Gold Washed Rind by Woombye Cheese.
- Champion Vanilla, Chocolate or Strawberry Ice-cream or Gelato of Show: Lindt Chocolate 70% by The Standard Market Company.
- Champion Flavoured Ice-cream or Gelato of Show: Yuzu Gelato by Scoop Gelati.
- Champion Ice-cream or Gelato of Show: Yuzu Gelato by Scoop Gelati.
- Champion Sorbet of Show: Spicy Pineapple Sorbet with a touch of Tequila by Wicked Ice Cream.