Swiss cheesemaker Hitz Pius from the Vorderfultigen cheese company in canton Bern poses with the trophy after winning the World Cheese Awards with a 18-month old Gruyere AOP cheese, November 13, 2025.
Keystone / Anthony Anex
A Swiss Gruyère AOP cheese was crowned the world’s best cheese at the World Cheese Awards 2025, held this year in Bern, Switzerland. The prestigious international competition brought together more than 5,000 participants from 45 countries.
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The 18-month-old award-winning Gruyère comes from the Vorderfultigen cheese dairy in canton Bern and was made by Pius Hitz. More than 100 tables laden with cheeses of all categories were judged by a panel of 250 experts from five continents. The final round featured 14 cheeses.
“This exceptional distinction rewards the excellence of an iconic product of Swiss heritage, the result of know-how passed down from generation to generation for more than nine centuries,” the Gruyère Interprofessional Association said on Thursday.
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Quality and traceability
The competition, which began in 1988, was held in Switzerland for the first time this year and offered an exceptional showcase for Swiss cheesemaking skills.
The victory of Gruyère AOP underscores the importance of preserving products with protected designation of origin. This label guarantees quality and traceability for products shipped worldwide, said the Swiss association.
Next year’s World Cheese Awards will be held in Cordoba, Spain.
Translated from French by DeepL/sb
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