Cheesemaking Masterclass with Cressida and Mike Cains Pecora Dairy Friday 14 April

Friday 14 April

Pecora Dairy is an artisan sheep milk dairy and cheesery founded in 2011 by Michael and Cressida Cains. 

The 200-acre farm is situated in Robertson where the ewes graze in lush pasture and drink from crystal clear running creeks to produce rich, creamy milk to make the seasonal ewes milk cheeses.

The overarching philosophy is a gentleness on the land, towards the ewes, and in the production the cheese. This light-handed approach intertwines throughout all aspects of the farming and cheesemaking, resulting in benchmark, ewe's milk cheeses with provenance of a single time and place and are an expression of the farms entire ecosystem. Cress and Mike have raised a pure East Friesian sheep flock and created a cheese making systems with painstaking care over many years.

It really is a beautiful thing, knowing that where your food comes from, has been so thoughtfully and sustainably managed.

In August 2018, after several years of consultation with authorities, Yarrawa, Australia's first uncooked, raw milk cheese was released. They have subsequently released a raw milk feta and this will be followed by a raw milk blue cheese. Ultimately, they let the sweet, pure ewe's milk speak for itself in their cheese.

Making cheese is deeply satisfying, and unlike any other food process, it's a unique experience, to coax something so mysterious and beautiful from a pot of ordinary milk. In this hands-on class, Mike and Cress will show you how to make a Mozzarella and Camembert, add cultures and rennet, cut curd, stir and mould cheese. 

As you experience the making process, Mike and Cress will present a cheese appreciation session with local and international cheese. 

You will take home all your mozzarella and baby camembert, along with information about how to mature the camemberts, a full cheesemaking kit and recipes.

The class will include a ploughmans lunch and if you care to linger afterwards, we will wander across the road to Pecora Wine Bar and sit out on the deck with Mike and Cress.

The class is from 1:00pm - 6:00pm and Mike, Cress and the team at Moonacres school look forward to seeing you soon.