Un-brie-lievable scenes: World Cheese Awards crown their 2025 champion

Which cheese was cream of the crop?

What do you think the best cheese is in the whole wide world?

Well, now there's an official answer to that question, as the World Cheese Awards have announced their champion for 2025.

Over five thousand entries from 46 countries entered into the competition, which was held in Bern, Switzerland, but there could only be one winner.

And it was a victory for the home nation this year, with a classic Swiss gruyère named as Best Cheese on the Planet.

One of the members of the jury who chose the cheese was Perry Wakeman, who reflected on the significance of its win: "It is massive".

Let us know in the comments what your favourite type of cheese is!

Swiss cheesemaker Hitz Pius collected the trophy on behalf of his champion cheese company

This year, a record-breaking 5,244 cheeses made their way to Bern, where they were subject to lots of rounds to narrow down the competition.

265 judges were needed to rate the cheeses based on their appearance, aroma (smell), body, texture and flavour.

14 finalists were named, including three British cheeses, as well as others from countries like Japan, Slovakia, the USA and the Netherlands.

And judges from around the world, spanning the UK to Uruguay, picked the winner - an 18-month Le Gruyère AOP made by cheese company Bergkäserei Vorderfultigen.

Perry Wakeman said he chose it because it was the kind of cheese "that would make people get excited about cheese from all walks of life."

It must have been one smelly competition!

How is cheese made?

Cheese is made by curdling milk. This is when products are added to make the milk thicken.

Once the milk sets, cheesemakers separate the solid parts, called curds, from the liquid, called whey. The curds are then cut, shaped and pressed into cheese moulds to give them their shape.

There are lots of different types of cheese, and these are created by using different products or changing the process slightly.

The winning world cheese, a gruyère, is a nutty and firmer cheese traditional to Switzerland.

A cheese is given the letters AOP to show that it is made and produced in a local area, meaning it's as authentic to its region of origin as it can be.