This year she had a record entry for the show of 69 different cheeses and cheeseboards to sample and critique.

As usual, she did so with such panache and aplomb the audience of often over 30 were held spellbound.

Another first for this show was the continuous sample of cheeses that were passed around after a cheese had been assessed, which gave instant feedback to all participants and casual viewers – or cheese groupies.

The weather on show day proved, at the start, to be perfect for cheeses at 20 degrees.

However, as the morning progressed and it became much cooler, concern was raised that the temperature might be too cool for some cheeses to taste their best!

Ah the problems of live outdoor judging.

With the steward clutching delicate cheeses to instil taste-giving warmth disaster was averted, the day saved!

The cheese that took out the Hotondo Homes Perpetual Trophy for Excellence was won, for a second year running, by Liz Worth with, this year, a nine-month-old cheddar that was so spectacular Carole wanted to take the cheese home with her!

“It tastes as good as a shop-bought cheese,” she said.

“Too many people discount the quality of cheddar that can be purchased in shops across Australia, the standard is particularly high and this cheese [the winning cheddar] could so easily grace the shelves with any of them.”

Watching Carole judge a cheese is like watching a whole drama series on television in just one morning - intriguing, exciting, frightening and just a little bit exhausting, but very satisfying…and just a wee bit sexy! 

For those of us present we could see how she studied the cheese… perhaps a little sniff at first, maybe a caress from a finger only later to crush it into her palm rubbing it in like a skincare product, its texture would be scrutinised, along with its colour, or sometime she would just peer at it in wonder, and that was before she had even tasted it!

Tasting proved to be a fearful experience for the uninitiated; well it always is for the poor competitor who is watching.

That’s the beauty of live judging, it is so honest, open and in your face…well, mouth really.

Carole had an array of instruments carefully laid out for the “operation” ranging from small knives of different sizes, cheese corers and a digital thermometer through to complex visual aids –a magnifying glass!

All these instruments were carefully monitored and managed by an eminently capable steward who was seen, on a couple of occasions, to mop Carole’s brow while she surgically cut the cheese, totally focussed on her sniffing and peering.

Then the moment of truth, the taste.

Here she could be seen to often close her eyes, her taste buds searching for that elusive though characteristic flavour that should be there.

Her face would take on almost a mask of agony and pain that stopped your breath mid-gasp, until it suddenly brightened to pleasure as the errant flavour mysteriously appeared in the nick of time – phew, we could all breathe again. 

Don’t believe me? Well watch the four-and-a-half hours of judging…in three-and-a-half minutes on Youtube!