Recipe Competition

Winners Announced

The winners of our Cheese Creative recipe competition have been announced.

We asked entrants to show us their love for cheese by developing an innovative, inspiring and delicious recipe using cheese as a key ingredient. And our winners certainly did!

There were two categories: one for cheese–loving foodies and one for chefs.

The winner of the Chef Category was Vitalijus Sgibnevas. Vital is Head Function Chef at The Merchant Hotel, Belfast and made Camembert and caramelised onion tart with gingerbread and fig.

The Food Blogger Category was won by ‘Down the Hatch NI’ – Lynsey Hollywood and Robert Ainley – with a Savoury Sunday Supper Cheesecake made with Northern Ireland Cheddar.

The winners each received €1,000 and attended a gala event in Brussels where their recipes were showcased, along with those of competitors from France, Denmark and Ireland.

The trip to Brussels included private dinning at the renowned La Manufacture restaurant followed by a Symposium the next day at La Maison on the famous Grand Place.

The Symposium was all about European Cheese Culture – from the science of what makes our cheese delicious to future trends and the place of cheese in a modern lifestyle. There were cheese tastings and food pairings, and the winning recipes featured as part the celebrations.

Our judges for the Northern Ireland competition were cook and food writer Trish Deseine; Joy Alexander, Head of Food Technology Development at Loughry College and Dr Mike Johnston, Chief Executive of the Dairy Council NI.

Watch the highlights from the awards:

See more photographs in our Winners’ Gallery