Delve beneath the rind in a two-day Academy of Cheese course with Sharpham Dairy owner, Greg Parsons, and renowned cheese writer Patrick McGuigan. Hosted at the Dartington Trust on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 November, this level 1 course will take you from a humble lover of cheese to a verified connoisseur.

Greg Parsons says: “Anyone with a love of cheese who wants to increase their knowledge can enjoy this course. It's also perfect for professionals: chefs, sommeliers, retailers, cheesemakers, wholesalers and food and drink writers.”

Over the weekend you'll be introduced to the Academy's structured approach to tasting, as well as covering the history of cheese, understand the combination of science and artistry behind cheese-making, how to taste like a professional, milk composition, learn about terroir affects the character of cheese, how to prepare a show-stopping cheese board and discover how to approach cheese pairings. And best of all, you will taste and enjoy a wide variety of cheese styles all weekend.

A natural fit for the venue, Sharpham Cheese's roots lead back to the Dartington Trust, as Leonard and Dorothy Elmhirst were the pioneering entrepreneurs who founded the Dartington Hall project and inspired the eponymous 'Elmhirst' cheese - a triple cream Jersey cow's cheese.

The course includes a visit to Sharpham's dairy with Greg and Patrick, where you will experience cheesemaking and maturing first hand, plus fun and interactive sessions back at Dartington where tasting, wine matching and the art of the cheeseboard will all be important focuses.

Participants will study and taste 20 iconic cheeses over the two days, before sitting an online exam and becoming a fully accredited Associate of the Academy of Cheese.

Lunch and refreshments made with locally sourced produce will be provided over the weekend. 

Tickets also include entry to an evening event on Saturday 27 November with Patrick McGuigan based on his book 'A Philosophy of Cheese.'

The two day non-residential course takes place on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 November 10 - 4pm priced at £400 with 10% discount for Dartington Members. Accommodation can be arranged separately through Dartington Trust guest services. Booking for the course is available from dartington.org/event/academy-of-cheese-level-1/ and for Patrick McGuigan's cheese course dartington.org/event/philosophy-of-cheese/. For further information about the Academy of Cheese, please visit academyofcheese.org.

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PR contact: Harry Wild – harry@rawfoodanddrinkpr.co.uk / 07540399025. 

About Sharpham Cheese 

Situated on the banks of the River Dart near Totnes in South Devon, the Sharpham Estate has been producing wines and cheeses for 40 years to local, national and international acclaim. Home to their famous Brie, Rustic and Ticklemore cheeses, Sharpham Cheese is handcrafted with milk from their own herd of Jersey cows, along with goats and ewe's milk from their West Country neighbours.

Sharpham Cheese have won outstanding awards including UK Supreme Cheese at the Global Cheese Awards (Washbourne) and British Product of the Year in the Great British Food Awards (Cremet) judged by Marcus Wareing.

About Dartington Trust

The Dartington Experiment began in 1925, when wealthy pioneers and visionary thinkers Dorothy and Leonard Elmhirst bought a crumbling estate and began to explore how a place could change the world. They attracted some of the greatest artists, educators and political philosophers of the 20th century in the process. The community this created was the catalyst for important British institutions – including the NHS and Arts Council – and ground-breaking experiments in education, social policy, farming and land use.

Dartington Trust endures/lives on as a centre for progressive learning, arts, ecology and social justice, based on a 1,200 acre site near Totnes, in Devon. Throughout its history Dartington has drawn leading artists and thinkers including Bernard Leach, composer Igor Stravinsky, cellist Jacqueline du Pre, musician Ravi Shankar, playwright Bernard Shaw, environmental activist Vandana Shiva, social activist and politician Michael Young and writer Aldous Huxley.

The Trust works locally, nationally and internationally with pioneering thinkers, teachers, artists and social entrepreneurs to achieve change in three crucial areas: the arts, the promotion of a fairer society and the future of our planet.  

The many elements of the Trust today include: Schumacher College, Dartington Arts School and Research in Practice. It is a social-enterprise hub for like-minded organisations and charities, a place for nature with range of conservation, agroforestry and sustainable food-growing projects, a creative community with a year-round programme of art and craft short courses, theatre, music and dance events as well the independent Barn Cinema plus the Dartington Summer School & Festival which has been running since 1953. The estate is also a destination with Grade II* listed gardens, woodland walks, riverside trails, cafés, and restaurants and family-friendly activities.

About the tutors

Greg's Parsons 35 year career in food and drink started out in hospitality. Educated at Westminster College prior to joining the Whitbread PLC Management Development Programme and gleaned significant management experience before taking a year out to work (in food and drink) around the World.

Patrick McGuigan is one of the country's leading cheese writers and communicators. Patrick has interviewed the world's best cheesemakers, affineurs and cheesemongers, writing extensively on the subject for national newspapers and magazines, and appearing on BBC Radio 4's The Food Programme. His first book, The Philosophy of Cheese, was published by The British Library in 2020. Patrick is a senior judge at the World Cheese Awards and the co-founder of the British Cheese Weekender festival.