What Can I Expect

Cheesemaking courses - with artisan bread to be made and nibbles too! These three-hour classes hosted by Ann Hood's Smart School are offered in Essex, London and Buckinghamshire. 

You don't need a dairy or a herd of cows to be able to produce your own hand-made cheeses. You don't even need a huge amount of specialist equipment. These cheeses can all be made in small quantities, so it's a great skill to have in the kitchen.

You and your fellow cheese making apprentices will gather round in the professional kitchen to be shown the key stages of soft cheese production. You'll soon learn it's all about the best milk and precise temperatures.

On these cheese courses you could be making Mozzarella, that much-loved semi-soft textured cheese from Southern Italy that goes so well on a pizza and is delicious with basil and tomatoes in a Caprese salad.

There's also Ricotta, a whey cheese (that's the milk whey that's left over after traditional cheese making) that is often served with spinach. This is a very versatile cheese that can be used in cooking or eaten cold.

Moving away from Italy, we head to India for Paneer cheese. Always known in our household as 'squeaky cheese', Paneer has a lovely consistency that means it doesn't melt when put in a warm curry sauce. It has quite a unique taste that is superb when combined with spicy sauces and heaps of green veg.

And to round off the cheese-fest, you could be concocting some flavoured soft cheeses. We're thinking creamy cheeses with herbs, salt, chilli and so on. We're also thinking delicious goat's cheese. Yum!

What's more, the whey from the cheese making process also lends itself to bread making, so you'll learn all about that too, as well as making a delicious chutney to go with all that cheese and bread.

It's time to make cheese on the cheese courses!

When Is It Available

• Weekdays and weekends throughout the year, subject to availability

Suitable For

• Minimum age 18
• Suitable for vegetarians

Spectators

• This experience is not suitable for spectators

Anything Else

• Refreshments are available to purchase on site
• Some menu variations can happen if produce is not available on the day
• There is a dietary requirements box on the booking form when booking your date for those requesting vegetarian, gluten free etc-chef will provide a suitable replacement
• This is an educational lesson and as the clients prepare and cook, taster portions are served for you to practice at home