Discover India’s emerging artisanal cheese culture at a cheese tasting masterclass with Namrata Sundaresan at the Chiswick Cheese Market Kitchen. Taste cheeses made from yak, camel, goat and cow milk — and combine the experience with a visit to Chiswick Cheese Market, London’s only market dedicated entirely to cheese.
£30.00 + VAT
In stock
| Location | London, UK |
|---|---|
| Date: | 17th May 2026 |
| Time: | 11am-12.30pm |
Discover India’s emerging artisanal cheese scene at a guided cheese tasting masterclass in West London. Join cheesemaker Namrata Sundaresan at Chiswick Cheese Market Kitchen for a rare tasting of Indian cheeses.
India is rarely thought of as a cheesemaking nation.
Yet across the country – from Himalayan highlands to tropical southern hills – a new generation of cheesemakers is quietly creating some of the most distinctive cheeses being made today.
This exclusive cheese tasting is a rare opportunity to taste this movement first-hand.
In this immersive masterclass, Chennai-based cheesemaker and Academy of Cheese Training Partner, Namrata Sundaresan, guides guests through a curated tasting of 8-10 artisanal cheeses from across India, exploring the remarkable diversity of milk, climate, and craft shaping the country’s emerging cheese identity.
Guests will have the rare opportunity to taste cheeses made from:
Each cheese reveals a different response to India’s environment, where heat, altitude, and biodiversity shape both flavour and technique.
The tasting will include between 8-10 cheeses* representing India’s evolving cheesemaking culture. Each cheese will be paired with insights into milk chemistry, terroir, and maker philosophy.
*cheeses are subject to availability
A high-altitude yak milk cheese from Arunachal Pradesh, this feta-style cheese is first aged in brine for a month, followed by maturation in oil infused with mild native spices. The result is a firm yet crumbly texture with a distinctly herbaceous, grassy profile that reflects the Himalayan landscape.
Inspired by Norwegian brunost but rooted in Indian dairy traditions. It draws a parallel to khoa/palkova, a traditional Indian method of milk reduction, resulting in a dense, fudge-like cheese with notes of caramel and toasted milk solids.
Beginning as a robiola-style cheese, this buffalo milk cheese is aged for three weeks before being wrapped in fig or lotus leaves and matured further. The leaf wrapping creates a unique microclimate, encouraging rind development and imparting earthy, vegetal notes alongside a supple, creamy interior.
Made using Tita Phool, a seasonal bitter flower native to Assam, this cheese is inspired by alpine styles but expresses a distinctly regional identity. The flower is applied to the rind, contributing subtle bitterness and aromatic complexity, while the paste remains structured and semi-firm.
This clothbound cheddar is infused with single-origin lavender from Kashmir after milling and salting. Aged for 6–12 months, it balances the savoury depth of cheddar with delicate floral aromatics, creating a layered profile that is both familiar and distinctive.
This fresh, lactic cheese begins as a fromage blanc made from goat’s milk sourced from a pastoral community in Gujarat. It is then transported to Chennai, salted, coated in spent grains from a Bangalore brewery, and aged. The result is a textured, mildly tangy cheese that reflects a unique cross-regional and circular production approach.
A soft, bloomy rind cheese made from goat’s milk, featuring a delicate rind and a creamy interior. It showcases the evolution of mould-ripened cheeses in India, with a balance of lactic freshness and gentle mushroomy notes as it matures.
An alpine-style mountain cheese inspired by Gruyère, produced in the upper Himalayan region. Shaped by a cooler climate and high-altitude terroir, it develops a firm texture and nutty, savoury flavours, representing one of the more technically refined aged cheese styles emerging from India.
Produced in small batches in a remote pastoral region, this aged camel milk cheese is an evolution of traditional fresh and whey-based dairy practices. Camel milk’s unique fat structure results in distinctive flavour development, with aromatic notes ranging from turpentine to ripe banana as it matures.
During the session we explore:
• India’s historic cheese traditions such as Kalari, Bandel, and Churpi
• How cheesemakers work with extreme climates and diverse milks
• The role of botanicals, leaves, and local microbes in flavour development
• Why India is becoming one of the most exciting new regions in global cheese
| Essential Details | |
|---|---|
| Date: | Sunday 17th May 2026 |
| Time: | 11am – 12.30pm |
| Location: | The Kitchen 14 Turnham Green Terrace Mews London W4 1QU See on map |
| Price: | £30 plus VAT (£36) |
Cheesemaker, educator and co-founder of Käse Cheese in Chennai
Namrata Sundaresan is a cheesemaker and educator whose work explores the intersection of biodiversity, climate, and artisanal cheesemaking in India. Her research and practice focus on how local ingredients and environments shape distinctive cheese styles across the subcontinent. She became an accredited Training Partner with the Academy of Cheese in 2022 and regularly holds their Level One certification for cheese makers and cheese lovers across India.
The masterclass takes place just moments from the vibrant Chiswick Cheese Market, the only market in London dedicated entirely to cheese.
Held regularly in the heart of Chiswick, the market brings together some of the finest cheesemakers, affineurs, and specialist producers from across Britain and Europe. Stalls showcase an extraordinary range of cheeses – from farmhouse classics and seasonal rarities to small-batch artisan creations rarely found in shops.
This is the perfect opportunity for cheese lovers to turn the day into a full celebration of cheese. Before or after the masterclass, visitors can explore the market, meet producers, taste and purchase new discoveries.
For those passionate about cheese, it is a rare chance to connect a global tasting experience with one of the city’s most distinctive food markets.
Whilst this event has been organised by the Academy of Cheese, the content has been curated by, and remains the intellectual property of Namrata Sundaresan.
Please note once the event is booked it is non-refundable. All bookings are final, however, if you are unable to attend you can reassign your booking to a new available date or to another person. We require 14 days’ notice prior to the original start date. We reserve the right to cancel an event at short notice should events beyond our control make this unavoidable. Should this occur, you will be offered a place on our next available scheduled event or a full refund.
