Kate Johnson showing the curd to participants at her on-site Apple Valley Cider workshop.
Kate Johnson, founder and owner of The Art of Cheese in Longmont, Colorado is always up to something! We have done numerous articles about her book & DVD, her online classes, her certification program, her cheese chats and her cheesemaking vacations in Hawaii. Now, she’s on the cutting edge of the cheese board again with her mobile classroom. In fact, she may be bringing her classes to a town near you!
Class at the Winery at Holy Cross Abbey
Swing Low, Cheese Chariot!
By Kate Johnson
The Art of Cheese’s new mobile cheesemaking classroom (dubbed The Cheese Chariot) is on a roll! With our first two classes behind us, it looks like we’re onto something.
We rolled into Cañon City, Colorado on September 20th and Penrose, Colorado on October 16th to teach Cheesemaking 101 with Cheese and Wine/Cider pairings to two sold out crowds.
The grape orchards at Holy Cross Abbey
Here’s how we do it:
We joined Harvest Hosts which gives us a nationwide directory of Wineries, Cideries, Breweries, Distilleries and Farms that will let us camp out on their property for a night.
Map showing locations available through Harvest Hosts
We search for the area we want to head to and then contact the locations in that area that might be interested in hosting a class. We then send them an email proposal for a class at their location. In our first two inquiries, we got a resounding YES the same day!
Once we set the date, we run with it. We set up the class on our website, encourage the host site to link to it from their own website, and then we send out press releases to news outlets in their area.
That landed us a gig on a local daytime program on a Fox television station where we did a cheesemaking demo and promoted the upcoming class. (See that demo at https://www.fox21news.com/living-local/the-art-of-cheese-takes-cheesemaking-on-the-road-in-their-new-cheese-chariot/)
Screenshot of demo (click here)
We then handle all the registrations and bring the cheeses and the cheese class to them. We bring along 10 tables and 20 chairs and set up just outside the Chariot as weather allows, or can move indoors when needed for inclement days. The Chariot serves as our prep kitchen and temporary lodging while we’re on the road.
So far, our hosts have been a winery and a cidery and we paired their libations with the cheeses and paid them for their part out of the registration fees.
The goal is to make it as easy for our hosts as possible, as enjoyable for our students as possible, and to introduce the students to both cheesemaking and to the host site. So, it’s a win-win for all.
We’ve already been asked to bring the Chariot to several more Colorado and Wyoming locations as well as some pretty distant spots including Idaho, Washington and North Carolina. We might plan some trips in those directions next year, but for now, we’re staying a little closer to home.
We’re also hoping to offer some small private events inside the Chariot later this season. It can comfortably seat 8 folks for a Cheesemaking 101 demonstration and Guided Cheese Tasting session and we’re envisioning this being a popular Holiday Party option for nearby folks.
Here’s what people have been saying:
“We had a great time…you kept the class interesting and made us all feel like we could make cheese!! We loved it!” ~ Amy A.
“It was great to meet you…thank you so much for your awesome cheesemaking class!” ~ Lydia R.
“You did an awesome class! Just the right pace.” ~ Diane R.
Meanwhile, back at the farm…
Classes continue back at our on-farm classroom with our other two instructors when I’m on the road, and we also have our 50+ On Demand classes that were developed during the pandemic shut down so, no matter where students are, they can learn to make cheese with us!
