It was one of Napoleon’s favourite cheeses, but French pride in Camembert suffered a blow when a Canadian version of the soft, creamy delicacy native to Normandy was voted the world’s best.

A cheese made in Quebec has come first in the Camembert category at the World Championship Cheese Contest, held in Wisconsin.

L’Extra, produced in Saint-Hyacinthe, east of Montreal, beat the top French Camembert, Isigny Sainte-Mère, which won the title in 2010 but was placed 12th this year.

Although another variety of French cheese was named the overall winner of the "world’s best cheese" award, that success was eclipsed by the sour aftertaste of losing the Camembert prize.

“How can it be?” lamented the Ouest-France newspaper.

The Journal du Dimanche newspaper commented: “Sadly, the French media have focussed with bitterness on the Camembert award.”