You can buy the best cheese in Canada at Empire Cheese and Butter Company in Campbellford, Northumberland County.

The farmer co-operative, which processes two million litres of milk a year, half of which become curds, was named grand and reserve champion cheddar cheese maker at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto last month.

Small is best, says master cheesemaker Kevin Gibson, and every bit of cheese you see in the store is championship quality.

"The cheese I wanted to bring to the Royal somehow got sold and I was in a hurry. So I brought some blocks out of the back," he said. "We’re so small we can’t make show cheese." The cheese has to come out of the regular run.

Gibson is a third generation cheese maker who learned the craft the old fashioned way at his granddaddy and daddy’s knee. "There are no additives and cheese is aged the way it was 100 years ago."

The win brought an avalanche of calls from media and customers searching for the best of cheese. The grand champion award has been a boon for the small cheese factory which charges a small premium because it can’t produce on a mass scale. "People will pay more if the quality is higher," Gibson says.

Before coming to Empire Cheese, he worked for Bear River Cheese in Prince Edward County. He graduated from the one-year cheese course at Kemptville College back in the early 80s. His brother is a cheese maker with Kraft.