Want to learn more about cheese? Then Level One is for you! Becoming an Associate of the Academy of Cheese is the first step to developing a greater understanding and appreciation of cheese.
The course will introduce you to the Academy’s own Structured Approach to Tasting and you will discover a range of tools to help you communicate more effectively about cheese. You’ll learn how cheese is made, how to assess quality, understand the provenance and range of cheese available. You will study and taste 25 iconic cheeses before you’re ready to sit your online exam and gain your first Academy of Cheese certification.
Next Academy of Cheese Level 1 course in Oslo: Saturday 6th November 2021, 9 – 18.
The course will be taught partly in English, but mostly in Norwegian.
Click HERE to enroll.
What will you learn?
In this course, you’ll learn everything you need to know to take your Level 1 exam and become an Academy of Cheese Associate. You will learn the correct way to taste cheese, how to present it, how it’s made and much, much more.
Here are the 9 modules which structure the course.
1: Milk Production and Cheesemaking
- How to describe the key ingredients used in cheesemaking and their purpose
- Have an overview of the steps involved in cheesemaking and maturation
- Understand the Academy of Cheese Make/Post-Make (MPM) Model
- Understand how milk is produced
2: Maturing, Affinage and Grading
- Recognise the condition of a soft mould-ripened cheese in terms of degree of ripeness
- Understands cheese grading and its relevance
- Understands the role of maturation and affinage in adding value to the product
- Knows the different techniques to accelerate and decelerate ripening in soft mould-ripened cheese
3: Buying and Distribution
- Understand of how cheese is bought and transported including the term “chill chain”
- Understand the importance of offering an appropriate range of cheeses for a cheese board
4: Presenting and serving
- Select and use appropriate packaging, to wrap and re-wrap cheese
- Be able to cut cheese using appropriate tools
- Understand the importance of caring for, cutting and serving cheeses appropriate to the variety
5: Communicating about cheese
- Understands the key descriptors of cheese i.e. country of origin, species of milking animal, vegetarian/animal rennet, raw/pasteurised milk, MPM Model, protected status, age
- Understands the principles of pairing cheese and drinks
6: Cheese Industry Knowledge
- An overview of the history of cheesemaking
- Understand the differences between large scale and artisan production
- Understand an overview of the nutritional value of cheese
7: Regulation and Good Practice
- Demonstrates good hand-washing techniques
- Understand how to handle cheese safely
- Understand the difference between “use by” and “best before”
8: Tasting
- Understands how to use the Academy of Cheese Level 1 Structured Approach to Tasting Model
- Practical assessment of cheese using the model
9: 25 Iconic Cheeses
At Level One you are required to study and taste 25 iconic cheeses. You will find details on each cheese in your delegates pack and in the online Cheese Library. Whether you attend an online or classroom course you will be expected to have tasted the 25 cheeses on the Level One list by the time of your assessment.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
- Use the Structured Approach to Tasting Cheese (SATC) sheet to record your tasting notes.