On Friday, 240 experts from 40 countries descended on Viseu in northern Portugal for the World Cheese Awards. The judges sampled throughout the day, with a washed-rind raw sheep’s milk cheese from the host country, queijo de ovelha amanteigado, named the best.
But throughout the afternoon, the British contingent noticed something strange: gaps on several of the tables. Britain’s cheeses, it transpired, hadn’t passed customs, and were robbed of the chance to compete with the world’s best.
