Two Carmarthenshire cheese makers are celebrating after carrying off top awards in the British Cheese Awards this weekend (26 � 28 September). This was the first time the awards were held in Cardiff with the support of the Welsh Assembly Government and Cardiff County Council..

Kid Me Not from Llandeilo was awarded Best New Cheese for its Talley Mountain Goats� Cheese, while Carmarthenshire Cheese Company from Llanllwch received the honour for Best Welsh Cheese for its Pont Gar soft cheese with garlic and herbs.

Pont Gar was described by the judges as �a large deep wheel covered with a thick, firm fitting soft white mould.� It has a �soft custard texture� and �the interior is deliciously smooth and creamy and feels wickedly rich and the garlic and herbs are wonderfully subtle.�

Sian Elin Peace, co-owner and director of Carmarthenshire Cheese Company with husband Steve, congratulated Mark Jones and the manufacturing team who make their prizewinning cheeses saying:

�It's really all down to attention to detail. We rely on the cheese making team to turn out quality cheeses from our locally developed recipes time after time. The staff have played a large part in our success, which is a reflection of their passion for the products as well as ours.�

Loraine Makowsi Heaton�s achievement is all the more remarkable because it is her first foray into cheesemaking, having only begun in July 2007. She describes Talley Mountain as a smooth and creamy mild goats� cheese.

�I am absolutely thrilled, over the moon,� says Loraine. �I believe that what makes our products so special is that our goats go out and browse the hills of the farm here in Talley. The milk is always used as fresh as possible and processed to a high standard. Our thanks go out to Carmarthenshire Cheese who contract-make the cheese for us and their team of dedicated staff.� Kid Me Not also makes fudge, yoghurt and smoothies from the milk of her own goat herd.

Welsh producers carried off four gold medals. Apart from Pont Gar and Kid Me Not Talley Mountain, other gold winners were Llandyrnog Creamery in Clwyd for its Mature Cheddar and Caws Cenarth in Pembrokeshire for its blue cheese, Perl Las.

In total, Wales won 23 medals. The Pembrokeshire Cheese Company. South Caernarfon Creameries, Quirt Farm, the Blaenafon Cheddar Company, Teifi Farmhouse Cheese, Caws Mynydd Du, Cothi Valley Goats, Trethowan�s Dairy and Abergavenny Fine Foods were all amongst the winners.

This was a significant achievement for the 98 Welsh cheeses entered in the awards as they faced stiff competition against a record-breaking 910 entries from across the UK.

Welsh Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones paid tribute to the winners.

�I am delighted that the British Cheese Festival and British Cheese Awards have found a new home in Cardiff, which will further enhance Wales� reputation as the place to find the best quality food,� she says.

�The standard of the competition is incredibly high and I am doubly pleased that Welsh cheeses performed so well. The awards prove that the Welsh cheese industry is going from strength to strength.�

The Awards were presented at dinner and ceremony at the Millennium Stadium during the Great British Cheese Festival, which was held for the first time at Cardiff Castle. The weekend event attracted 7000 visitors keen to taste some of the 450 cheeses available to try and buy, which included True Taste award-winning Welsh products.

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Note to editors:

Sian Elin and Steve Peace Carmarthenshire Cheese Company Boksburg Hall, Llanllwch, Carmarthenshire SA31 3RN

Tel: 01267 221168 Mobile: 07971 248421 / 07887 513798 Email: sales@carmarthenshirecheese.co.uk

Loraine Makowski Heaton

Kid Me Not

Ffynnongrech Farm, Talley, Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, SA19 7BZ

Tel: 01558 685935 Fax: 01558 685163 Email: info@kidmenot.co.uk Web: www.kidmenot.co.uk

For a full list of winners contact Leigh Roberts (01656) 788336 leigh@colemanroberts.co.uk