Cheese Making at Home
Join us at River Cottage HQ for a perfect introduction to cheese-making. With expert tuition you'll learn how to produce three different cheeses and gain the confidence to make your own cheeses at home.
Olly Goolden has been creating cheeses for nearly 10 years at his farm in Dorset and supplying River Cottage for most of this time! Olly now joins us as our Cheese Tutor to share his wealth of knowledge so that you can learn to make your own cheeses.
Olly will guide you through the process of how cheese is made and provide you with the necessary skills and confidence. Over the course of the day, you’ll make three different types of cheese - Paneer, Tomme and Mozzarella. He will also share his tips on how to adapt common household items for cheesemaking, rather than buying expensive specialist equipment.
Cheesemaking consists of moments of high activity and times when you must wait as the milk transforms. During one of these moments, Olly will talk about waxed vs unwaxed cheeses and demonstrate the process so you can give it a go at home. Our kitchen will ensure you’re well fed throughout the day and there’s likely to be some cheese involved!
At the end of the day you’ll head up the hill with your creations and instructions on how to store or mature them and how to repeat the recipes yourself. Do remember to bring some Tupperware and a cool box to carry your cheeses home!
Highlights:
- Make three different styles of cheese, Paneer, Tomme and Mozzarella
- Learn how to wax coat cheese
- Find out how to make cheese at home, using kitchen equipment and household items that you probably already have
Your day
10:00 - 17.00
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Arrive at River Cottage
You’ll begin your River Cottage experience with a 10-15 minute walk through the pathways down to the farm, enabling you to really soak up the views of the valley.
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Make yourself at home
You will meet your host and start the day with tea, coffee and a cheesy treat fresh from the kitchen.
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Session One
There will be no hanging around. The first thing you’ll do is to start making your first cheese: Tomme, a semi-hard alpine style cheese with a mild tang.
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Session Two
Olly will demonstrate how to create a wax coating for your cheese, a great way of preserving your cheese.
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Lunch
Tuck into a delicious lunch, prepared by our chefs and themed, naturally, around cheese.
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Session Three
Next, you’ll start work on your second cheese: Mozzarella, a classic southern Italian cheese, perfect for pizzas and salads.
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Session Four
Your third cheese is Paneer, often found in Indian style dishes, it has a delicious texture and carries strong flavours well.
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Session Five
You’ll finish making your cheeses and can proudly say you’ve made three different cheeses in one day!
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Departure
Head up to the car park for 5pm with your three cheeses in hand.
Please note: This is a guide to the activities that will make up your course at River Cottage. This is by no means set in stone and will depend on seasonal availability.
On occasion cookery schools will use equipment that includes induction hobs. It is recommended that people with pace makers should not work on these units. If you are concerned or would like to check whether or not induction hobs will be used on the course you are interested in, please call us on 01297 630302.
Further information...
This course is run from River Cottage HQ on the Dorset/Devon borders. Full address details of HQ will be provided once you have booked.
We are a licensed venue. We have a wide selection of the finest organic wines available to purchase.
Stay in our famous Farmhouse, click here. For other local accommodation click here.
We would advise that this course is only really suitable for 12 years of age and upwards. Under 16s must be accompanied by a paying adult. We put these guidelines in place for the safety, comfort and enjoyment of all our guests.
We’re afraid this course isn't suitable for vegans or those with dairy allergies
With many of our courses there are often treats and leftovers to take away with you. In our quest to be more sustainable we are encouraging guests to bring their own containers and bags to transport their produce home. Details of what is required for each course will be included in booking emails.
- Sustainable Restaurant Association
- Food and Travel Magazine 2017
- Great British Food Awards 2017
- Great British Food Awards 2018