Kate Johnson with Bronze Level cheese makers
We first interviewed Kate Johnson, the founder of The Art of Cheese , a school for cheese making, in 2014 when she sent us her recipe for Chocolate Ricotta Mousse. Since that time, she has developed a unique program for the attendees of her classes in Longmont, Colorado. It’s called an “in-house certification” with levels achieved and certificates awarded. It is incredibly inspirational!
Page from Kate’s website-theartofcheese.com
As her students complete a certain number of classes, they rise from the Bronze to the Platinum levels. And, when they receive a certification at any level, their picture appears on Kate’s Facebook page.
That’s Kate in the center.
I asked Kate about her certification program:
The “in-house certification” idea really was just a fun way to encourage people to keep coming back for more classes and to have a goal to work toward. It was also a way to “bundle” classes so students could get a discount when they committed to a certain number of classes.
The levels more or less correspond with what I think are “beginner” classes (Soft Cheeses, Feta & Queso and Mozzarella/Ricotta/Burrata)- Bronze level; “intermediate” classes (Intro to Hard Cheeses, Brie & Cam, and Colby) – Silver level; and then “Advanced” Cheeses (Cheddars, Blues and Washed-rind cheeses) – Gold.
Once we had a number of Gold-level students and had added a few more class options, we added the “Platinum” level. Originally, I had envisioned that people would take classes in sort of this “order,” but many students start with advanced cheeses, take a soft cheese class, and then do an intermediate, so no order is necessarily required – just recommended. They get their levels based on number of classes taken, as opposed to which classes they’ve taken.
That’s Joe Heyen, on the left, who we interviewed in 2012 (click here)
The prices for her classes are very reasonable:
3 classes = Bronze Level Package for $100 (save $17)
6 classes = Silver Level Package for $185 (save $49)
9 classes = Gold Level Package for $260 (save $91)
12 classes = Platinum Level Package for $350 (save $118)
These cheese makers have reached the Platinum level.
If you think you might be interested in Kate’s program, she is offering a “An Evening with Three Cheese Makers” at the Haystack Mountain Creamery Education Center on November 17th at 6:30pm. She will have 3 of her Platimum level cheese makers there to speak about the “Trials and Tribulations of the Home Cheese Maker” and to answer questions. They will offer samples of their own cheeses. E-mail Kate for more info: info@theartofcheese.com or call 303-579-9537.
We will tell you more about these 3 advanced cheese makers in our December 1st Moos-Letter where they will be our monthly “Spotlight.”
For more about this Certification Program, click here.
