This week I was solo in my crazy creative endeavor. I attended a cheese-making class. Cheese, y’all! Cheese!
Held at The Ebell – a place I’m presently smitten with – the class was taught by Chef Louis Pechan and it was awesome. I’ll be honest though, it wasn’t what I expected. I’ve been to many a cooking class and based on those experiences, I thought I’d get more of a hands-on evening.
When I walked in and saw the beautifully set tables with their fascinating centerpieces, I knew I was way off. The class turned out to be a watch-and-learn sort of gig. So I watched. And I learned.
Chef Louis demoed Halloumi cheese…
Mozzarella cheese…
Burrata cheese…
(Ricotta cheese was also made, using the whey from the Halloumi process.)
Anyhoo, after a couple of hours of cheese-making, we were treated to a stunning feast, featuring the cheeses we’d seen being made. It was amazing, y’all. I was a happy, happy gal. And then something incredible happened: We ate our centerpieces! They turned out to be baby radishes “planted” in a layer of yogurt, with pumpernickel bread crumbs on top. Edible centerpieces! I loved it! And I’ll definitely be stealing that idea.
When all was said and done, I felt like I got a pretty good overview of basic cheese-making. I definitely felt inspired to give it a go at home in the near future. And though I learned it is cheaper to buy cheese than to make it, I won’t be deterred. I mean, I didn’t witness gold being made or anything, but it still felt like a bit of magical dairy-based alchemy. And I loved it.