Arenas de Cabrales - last Sunday in August
The Cabrales Cheese Contest is the biggest festival of the council and one of the most recognized gastronomic celebrations in Asturias. Declared a Festival of Tourist Interest, it is held every year on the last Sunday of August in Arenas de Cabrales.
The day begins with the parade of folk groups and bagpipe bands, accompanying the authorities and the representative figures of the day: the Xana of the festivities and the Pastor Mayor de los Picos de Europa, a distinction that recognizes the trajectory of the veteran shepherds of the council.
The centerpiece of the contest is the official competition in which a specialized jury evaluates the cheeses presented by the cheese factories registered in the Cabrales Cheese. From this tasting the Best Cheese of the Year is selected.
The celebration is completed with cultural activities, traditional demonstrations, Asturian bowling, market, music and popular pilgrimage, configuring an event that transcends the strictly gastronomic to become a collective expression of pastoral culture.
The most expensive cheese in the world sold at auction
The event is internationally renowned for the record-breaking auction of the winning cheese. Cabrales holds the title of "most expensive cheese in the world sold at auction", recognized by Guinness World Records.
It is important to note that this price does not correspond to the usual market value. A Cabrales cheese of excellent quality has an approximate price much lower than the record achieved at auction.
The extraordinary figure is paid exclusively for the winning piece of the annual competition. That cheese is publicly auctioned for promotional purposes and to support the livestock sector. Restaurants from different parts of Spain participate in the bidding, thus helping to reinforce the prestige of the brand and the territory.
In recent years, the auction has reached outstanding figures:
- 2019: €20.500 €
- 2023: 30,000 €
- 2024: 36.000 €, paid by the restaurant Llagar de Colloto for a piece of just over two kilos elaborated by the Ángel Díaz Herrero cheese factory
- 2025: 37.000 €, new auction record
These figures reflect the symbolic, promotional and territorial value that the winning cheese acquires within the contest.