On December 16, an offline presentation of Ukraine’s first cheese map took place in Kyiv. The map is a large-scale analytical tool created based on the participation of Ukrainian producers’ in the World Cheese Awards and the national ProCheese Awards, and was presented alongside a printed guidebook.
The map illustrates the geography of Ukrainian cheesemaking and features producers whose cheeses have been recognized by international experts. In total, it showcases 65 cheeses from different regions of Ukraine, making it the most extensive and systematized visual representation of the contemporary Ukrainian cheese market to date.
The map was created by the Ardis Group team and the ProCheese department, the organizers of the ProCheese Awards and the official representatives of Ukraine at the World Cheese Awards, with the support of the Swiss-Ukrainian Quality FOOD Trade Programme.
The idea of the project emerged as a response to a key challenge facing the industry: the need for systematization, transparency, and the unification of a rapidly developing yet still fragmented community.
The map highlights the regional diversity of Ukrainian cheese, documents award-winning producers, and serves as a reference point for retail, HoReCa, media, and consumers, guiding them through the world of Ukrainian artisanal cheese.
“Every cheese-producing country in the world has its own cheese map — it is the foundation of the industry’s identity. Ukraine has taken a long road toward being able to see its own. This map shows how diverse we are, yet at the same time united by a shared purpose. It captures not just producers, but the development of Ukrainian cheesemaking, its presence at international competitions, and the journey we have taken over the past years,”
— Oksana Chernova, cheese expert, co-founder of the ProCheese Awards, and judge at the World Cheese Awards.
During the event, Taras Vysotskyi, Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture of Ukraine, noted that Ukrainian cheeses are now recognizable at international competitions, and this is not a series of isolated successes but a trend that is strengthening year by year. Ukrainian producers are demonstrating quality that competes at the global level. He emphasized that initiatives such as the cheese map play an important role in systematically shaping Ukraine’s image as a cheese-producing country.
The organizers plan to further expand the map by adding new cheesemakers, cheese varieties, and analytical data based on the results of national and international competitions.
The cheese map is available at the following link.
Background
- The Cheese Map of Ukraine is the first project to systematically document producers who have received recognition at professional competitions.
- The World Cheese Awards is one of the world’s largest cheese competitions. Ukrainian cheeses have been participating since 2022 with the support of Ardis Group and the Swiss-Ukrainian Quality FOOD Trade Programme.
- The ProCheese Awards is a festival of cheese craftsmanship and a national competition for cheeses and cheesemongers, held in Kyiv since 2021.
