Why study cheese, if you just want to eat it?

Talking the Cheese Talk

You have been eating decent cheese for a while now, and your confidence has begun to mature. You can talk about “chalky” textures and that some British cheeses taste “buttery”. Perhaps you have tasted some delicious French or Spanish cheeses during a recent holiday. 

Now the Cheese conversations are turning more complex. Can a cheese really taste of “farmyard”? What are the tell-tale signs a cheese is “too young”?. Is it possible to have a vegetarian rennet?

Learning about cheese is fun, engaging, and delicious! Studying with the Academy equips you with the language to communicate more confidently about cheese, discussing key descriptors like age, provenance, species of milking animal and the Academy’s own system of categorisation; the Make Post-Make model. 

Whether you are ordering a cheese board in a restaurant, shopping at your local cheesemonger or simply showing off amongst friends, this professional vocabulary will help take your enjoyment of cheese to the next level.

Mature your taste buds

So you have stopped eating cheese the moment it comes out of the fridge, (an enormous feat of will power, well done!). But are you taking the time to smell your cheese before you taste it? Will inspecting the rind and texture help with your tasting?  

During our courses you will learn to taste like a professional using the Academy’s unique Structured Approach to Tasting Cheese model. This teaches you the correct way to taste cheese to give you a deeper appreciation of its flavour, texture and quality, just like cheese judges do. Tasting cheese in this structured way will expand and educate your palate, enabling you to identify key characteristics of a cheese; its flavour profile, its milk, its age and even how it’s been made.

---

Gain Industry level knowledge

There is lots of information to find out about cheese, but if you have ever wanted a sneak peak ‘behind the curtain’ on the cheese industry you’re in for a treat. We have great pictures, graphics and stories from industry leading cheesemakers.   

Whether you are studying in your own time online or with one of our expert Training Partners, Academy of Cheese courses are full of inspiring and engaging content covering all aspects of the world of cheese. You will become familiar with protected food names, how to identify them on labels and what they mean for the quality of cheese you are buying. You’ll discover the history of cheesemaking and how it’s made today, giving you an appreciation for the differences between large scale and artisan cheese production.

Create amazing cheese boards

The perfect cheese board is an art form that is guaranteed to amaze and please your dinner party guests.  

Get the cheese knowledge required to create the perfect cheese board at your next dinner party, serving cheese you have chosen at peak ripeness and matched with its perfect drink pairing. You will even discover the correct way to care for cheese at home and how to cut it in a manner appropriate to the variety.

Join our Cheese Lovers alumni

Each of the 25 cheeses you will study Level One has been carefully selected to illustrate the Academy’s Make Post-Make model for classifying cheese, bringing the theory you’ve just learnt to life. 

Studying with us also gives you access to an online cheese library of over 150 cheeses (with more being added all the time!) so you can continue to learn as you enjoy more cheese. Once you’ve completed your studies and taken the exam, you’ll become a fully fledged Associate of the Academy of Cheese, joining our alumni of cheese enthusiasts around the globe.