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Popular tourist destination Gran Canaria was selected to host the World Cheese Awards in 2009.

It's true; cheese is big in the Canary Islands. In fact at last year's World Cheese Awards Tenerife took the headlines when one of its cheeses won the award of Best Cheese of the World for a paprika flavoured cured goat's cheese. The proper name for the winning cheese, just in case you want to go shopping for it, is Queso Arico Curado Pimenton. As far a food is concerned, the Canary Islands are more famous for their agricultural products of tomatoes, bananas, olives and cane sugar, but obviously goats seem to thrive on the islands too.

The awards this year started on 30th September and ran over four days, when over 100 tasters from around the world travelled to Gran Canaria to sample 3000 different cheese entered by over 300 producers. The venue was the Auditorio Alfredo Kraus in Las Palmas. The awards are part of the biggest international cheese competition which is organised by the Guild of Fine Food. Last year the awards were held in Dublin and when the goat's cheese from Tenerife took the top prize, the Canary Island's Government decided to invite the awards to the islands this year.

Last years overall winning cheese was made by the Dairy Cooperative of Arico, which operates in a small network of villages on the hillsides of East Tenerife, close to small fishing port of Poris de Abona.

The awards and accompanying festival was open only to trade visitors initially, but from the Friday and for the whole of Saturday the public was able to attend and the organisers expected around 10,000 visitors. As well as cheese there will suppliers of meat, oils and wine present. So for tourists on the island who like their food the convention could well have been an interesting opportunity.