CheeseFest - as much cheese as you can eat in one room!

The 2007 Cuisine NZ Champion Cheese Awards goes public with CheeseFest, an exciting new event held at The Floating Pavilion, Auckland from 5 - 7.30pm on Wednesday March 7th 2007.

For a modest fee, CheeseFest attendees will be able to sample entries to the 2007 Cuisine NZ Champions of Cheese Awards accompanied by a glass of award-winning Saint Clair Estate wine and live music.

Cheeses will be arranged at stations according to their different categories and cheese lovers will be able to sample from the biggest collection of New Zealand cheeses ever assembled in one room.

Popular food and wine writer Vic Williams recommends CheeseFest as "… a unique opportunity to taste a spectacular range of the best cheeses from both large and small local producers."

Individual stations will feature the ever popular cheddars, blue cheeses, bries, Dutch style cheeses, goats and sheep milk cheeses, washed rind cheeses and of course the award winning cheeses from the 2007 Cuisine NZ Champions of Cheese Awards announced the previous evening.

Members of the New Zealand Specialist Cheese Makers Association will be on hand to introduce and answer any questions the public may have about their cheeses.

Vic concludes that "There are as many variations in cheese as in wine and to be able to experience and learn about the differences first hand, guided by the cheese makers themselves is very exciting."

A cash bar is available to purchase other wines to match with cheeses. Non-alcoholic beverages are also available.

Tickets to CheeseFest are $35 and are available from Ticketmaster www.ticketmaster.co.nz or by calling 0800 111 999. A booking fee applies.

Ends