Fonterra cheesemaker Cathy Lang has been nominated for the 2024 Champion Cheesemaker award.

Lang, who works at the Eltham site, won the award in 2022.

This year’s winner will be announced in May.

If success is a portent of future success, then last week’s New Zealand Cheese Awards

were a positive omen for Lang and the Fonterra team.

Fonterra took home a total of 52 awards, including 21 for its premium Kāpiti range.

“Our team puts in a lot of work to create our beloved Kāpiti cheese range, it’s fantastic to see that be acknowledged by the judges,” Lang said.

For the fourth time in five years, Kāpiti Kikorangi Triple Cream Blue won gold in the Blue Cheese category, cementing its place as the most awarded cheese in New Zealand.

Fonterra’s Mainland won gold for its new Special Reserve Chilli and Garlic Brie launched late last year, while NZMP won six gold and Anchor rounded out the golden tally with two medals.

“These wins cement Fonterra’s position as the leading player in cheesemaking in New Zealand,” marketing and innovation director for Fonterra Brands New Zealand, Renee Milkop-Kerr said.

Kāpiti and Mainland’s specialty cheese range are produced at Fonterra’s Eltham site in Taranaki, which has been making cheese for more than 100 years from high quality milk produced by local dairy farmers.

Fonterra’s Lichfield, Hautapu, Stirling and Whareroa sites also took away awards for their cheeses.

More than 270 cheeses were assessed by the 30-person judging panel, led by master judge Jason Tarrant. The awards are in their 21st year.