A Sussex farm has proved to be the biggest cheese around by scooping a gold medal at the Cheese Olympics.

The celebrated Tremains Cheddar, from Sussex High Weald Dairy in Horsted Keynes, beat off stiff competition to win the coveted Cheese of the Year in the Small Manufacturer category at the World Cheese Awards.

The Sussex cheese went head to head with South African mascarpone, Spanish Idiazabal, Rogue River Blue from the USA, Austrian rolled cream cheese and raw milk Welsh Caerphilly to be crowned top cheese in its category.

Mark Hardy, cheese aficionado and head of the West Sussex dairy, said the secret of the Cheddar's success lay in its local roots.

He said: "There's a lot of good cheese out there these days - the competition is getting tougher.

"But with our cheeses you get food yards instead of food miles. We can use organic milk from the other side of the farmyard.

"You need fresh milk, good grass and a real feel for cheese. Cheese-making is somewhere between a skill and a science. You have to do what you feel is right. It's not like making a pancake - you can't keep following the same recipe."

The Tremains Cheddar was lovingly nurtured in its mould for four months, as it slowly matured into the award-winning cheese on the shelves today.

Mr Hardy explained: "That was just long enough for it to be nice and strong, but not so long that it started going dry. It has a really nice flavour, but you have to judge it right."

The panel of expert judges sliced, bored, sniffed and tasted nearly 2,000 cheeses from more than 600 makers worldwide, ranging from tiny producers to large-scale creameries, to decide which were worthy of bronze, silver and gold awards. All the gold-winning cheeses were then reassessed to select 20 category winners, including the best English and Welsh cheeses, and the 2007 Supreme Champion.

Mr Hardy said: "I was overwhelmed by the award. We've won bronze for our cheeses before, but this is our first gold medal."

Judge Mark Hix said: "It's a great feeling being in a white jacket judging the best cheeses in the world. These awards really do throw up some great new world class cheeses."

High Weald Dairy is now preparing for the British Cheese Awards in September, and is struggling to choose which of its cheeses to put forward for the awards.

The farm produces exotic halloumi, feta made from sheep's milk, as well as local cheeses including Duddleswell, Sussex Slipcote and Ashdown Forester's.

Mr Hardy said: "The award will definitely help us to sell more. The Tremains was our first Cheddar, it was a bit of an experiment, but it has been really popular with the local pubs and restaurants."