“Alfred le Fermier,” a farmstead cheese from Fromagerie la Station of Compton, Québec, was named First Place “Best of Show” among nearly 1,600 entries at the American Cheese Society’s 2025 Judging & Competition. The results of the competition were announced at a ceremony July 24 at the “City of Cheese” Conference at the Sacramento Convention Center, Sacramento, CA. Fromagerie la Station, who submitted to Judging & Competition for the second time, received five awards at this year’s competition — three first places, one second place, one third place, and First Place Best of Show. They also won Best of Show in 2024, as well.
Alfred le Fermier is a pressed, cooked farmstead cheese made from raw cow’s milk and is aged 8 to 10 months on wood boards. It has a yellowish orange rind that produces a nice woodsy aroma, a flowery, hazelnut flavor, and can be distinguished by its supple texture.
The Second Place Best of Show went to “Withersbrook Blue,” a raw milk blue cheese from Jasper Hill Farm in Vermont and the Third Place Best of Show went to “Grand Trunk” from Stonetown Cheese in Ontario.
The competition saw a remarkable number of entries this year, with 1,588 submissions from organizations across North America. The entries were judged across 136 different categories, resulting in 407 awards being distributed, including 120 first-place medals, 138 second-place medals, and 149 third-place medals to 141 organizations.
“The cheeses submitted to this year’s judging and competition were exceptional,” says David Lockwood, chair of the American Cheese Society’s Judging & Competition Committee. “Tonight, we had the honor of celebrating the American Cheese Society’s cheesemakers. Their dedication to quality and desire to continually improve is inspirational.”
ACS’ Judging & Competition (J&C), the largest event of its kind for American-made cheeses, wrapped up two-days of judging at the Huntington Bank Stadium at the University of Minnesota in June. Products entered in the competition were received June 9-11, 2025, with judging from June 12-13. Growing from just 89 entries 38 years ago, the ACS J&C welcomed cheeses and cultured dairy products from 228 companies this year.
The ACS Judging & Competition is renowned for its rigorous standards and is one of the largest cheese competitions in North America. The event highlights the exceptional quality and diversity of cheeses being produced across the continent, providing a platform for cheese makers to showcase their best products.
For the full list of the 2025 Judging & Competition winners, visit www.cheesesociety.org/competition#winner_archive.
