Artisan cheesemakers are struggling to find the technical support and knowledge they need due to a lack of specialist courses and consultants in the UK.
Members of the Specialist Cheesemakers’ Association (SCA) and the Academy of Cheese met earlier this year to discuss the problem, which stems from losing a generation of knowledge during the decline of farmhouse cheesemaking after the second world war. The meeting has led to initial plans to mentor cheese technologists who can offer consultancy.
The Courtyard Dairy in Settle has also launched the Northern Dairy Cheese School, which will run hands-on seminars to explore technical and practical aspects of cheesemaking twice a year at the shop’s in-house dairy. The findings will be shared online for other cheesemakers to access. The first class in September will focus on farmhouse Wensleydale.
“France has centres of excellence and colleges dedicated to cheesemaking, but we can’t build that overnight, so this is a starting point,” said Courtyard owner Andy Swinscoe. “There aren’t enough technical experts out there and we need new cheesemakers to come through and be given practical support.”
There are currently no regular cheesemaking courses for artisan producers at agricultural colleges in the UK, while the School of Artisan Food only offers a handful of professional courses a year. There is also a shortage of technical expertise, with cheese consultants Paul Thomas and Ivan Larcher – who advise many small producers – both currently based overseas.
The Academy of Cheese hopes to help close some of the knowledge gap with the launch of two new cheesemaking modules, written by Thomas, as part of its Level 3 certification, while cheesemaker and consultant Katy Fenwick, also the technical director for the Academy, is starting to provide more technical support for cheesemakers. She previously worked for Jasper Hill in the US and the School of Artisan Food, and is co-organising the new school at Courtyard.
“There is a huge gap to be filled,” she said. “There’s a need for at least three or four specialist cheesemaking consultants, which would really help artisan cheesemakers go to the next level. It’s one thing following a recipe for a cheese, and another understanding what’s happening in the vat and the maturing room so you can adapt to situations as they change.”
thecourtyarddairy.co.uk
fenwickcheeseconsulting.com
This article first appeared in the August 2024 edition of Fine Food Digest.
