The River Cottage Cooking Diploma: Next Level
Collection of 12 courses
Course Description
Learn the art and science of cheese making with Marcus Ferguson, an award-winning cheesemaker from an organic farm in Somerset.
Marcus first learned to make cheese at River Cottage and has gone on to win Best British Cheese at the Virtual Cheese Awards. He now returns to share his wealth of knowledge so that you can learn to make impressive cheeses at home.
Marcus will guide you through the process of how cheese is made and provide you with the necessary skills and confidence to make four different types of cheese - a Caerphilly, Camembert, Ricotta and Labneh. Marcus also shares his tips on how to adapt common household items for cheesemaking, rather than buying expensive specialist equipment.
Cheese making consists of moments of magic as the milk transforms and Marcus guides you through these periods with an explanation of the science of cheese making as the milk takes its “leap towards immortality”.
You'll learn:
- which equipment you'll need for making cheese (and how to make the equipment and cheese moulds at home)
- making camembert, Caerphilly, ricotta and labneh cheeses
- how to taste cheese professionally
- when the cheeses you make are ready for eating
The course includes:
- 4 on-demand video lessons - presented by Marcus Ferguson and River Cottage
- lifetime access to the videos, notes and interactive class
- flexible classes - join and learn when and where you like
- downloadable lesson notes
- practical cheese making assignments (with tutor feedback available)
- access on your mobile, PC, Mac or laptop
- small interactive online classroom - chat online to students from around the world and share your creative ideas
Time to complete the cheese making course:
Every student is different but in general we think the whole course will take around 14 hours 15 minutes to complete including:
- Video lessons: 2 hours 15 minutes in total
- Course notes: 30 minutes per lesson
- Your cheese making assignments: at least 2 hours per lesson
- Interactive classroom time: 15 minutes per lesson
- Tutor feedback review (Expert level): 15 minutes per lesson
You'll need:
Your lesson notes will include the full details of the cheese making equipment and ingredients you'll need. You will be making cheeses so will need standard kitchen equipment as well.
Ready to get started?
Just add the course to your basket above - choose the 'Expert' option for personal feedback from Marcus on your cheese assignments.
If you know someone who'd love this course then give it as a gift - just tick "This is a gift" at the checkout.
Any questions? Contact us by clicking on the orange speech symbol - we'd love to hear from you.
Course outline
Introduction to cheese, methods, equipment, theory
Camembert and Caerphilly
Ricotta and Labneh
Professional tasting and making your own equipment
Choose how you want to learn
The Expert option
RecommendedDevelop your learning further with marked assignments and personal tuition from Marcus Fergusson
- Start course whenever you like
- 4 weeks tutor access for personalised assignment feedback & coaching
- 4 assignments marked by Marcus Fergusson
- Certificate of completion
- Online classroom with up to 20 classmates
- 4 lessons with expert videos & notes
- Group chat & direct message with tutor & classmates
- Lifetime access to videos, notes & classroom
$220The Peer option
Discover the benefits of group learning in an online interactive classroom of no more than 20 people. Get the most from shared knowledge and community study
- Start course whenever you like
- Practise what you learn with your peers
- Online classroom with up to 20 classmates
- 4 lessons with expert videos & notes
- 4 course assignments
- Group chat & direct message classmates
- Lifetime access to videos, notes & classroom
$75
NewBuy this course for a business or group
New
You can now buy this course through your business or organisation for individuals and groups up to 20
Food & Drink classroom - how it works
Start anytime
Watch video tutorials led by expert tutors
Test yourself
Practice what you learn with inspiring assignments
Personal tuition
Get assignment feedback from expert tutors
Share ideas
Collaborate and chat directly to classmates
Meet Marcus Fergusson
Marcus Fergusson is an award-winning cheesemaker from Feltham’s Farm. Marcus first learned to make cheese here at River Cottage and has gone on to win Best British Cheese at the Virtual Cheese Awards in 2020 and 2021.
His astounding rind-washed cheese Renegade Monk is a very worthy winner and a fantastic example of a small artisan cheesemaker that is reinventing British cheese. His cheese is sought worldwide and features on Michelin-starred menus throughout Europe.
Marcus’ dairy is based on Feltham’s Farm, 22 acres of organic land in the north of Somerset’s beautiful Blackmore Vale. We have always farmed using organic principles, so that means no chemicals on the land and no antibiotics or restricted treatments for our animals, which are all free range and fed organic food. We do not use chemicals, pesticides, or GM modified seeds, we try to avoid single use plastics (difficult with PPE these days), and where possible we use biodynamic principles too.
He and his wife Penny Nagle run the dairy and farm. The cheese business came about almost by accident, after Marcus was made redundant from a corporate job in London. He wanted to do something on the farm but at 22 acres it was too small to farm conventionally while making enough money to live on.
Marcus has always been obsessed with cheese and after a one-day course at River Cottage, there was no turning back. Just a few years into the adventure they have won numerous awards and the order book keeps getting fatter. In many ways, it seems that this is a mid-life crisis that seems to be panning out OK.
His astounding rind-washed cheese Renegade Monk is a very worthy winner and a fantastic example of a small artisan cheesemaker that is reinventing British cheese. His cheese is sought worldwide and features on Michelin-starred menus throughout Europe.
Marcus’ dairy is based on Feltham’s Farm, 22 acres of organic land in the north of Somerset’s beautiful Blackmore Vale. We have always farmed using organic principles, so that means no chemicals on the land and no antibiotics or restricted treatments for our animals, which are all free range and fed organic food. We do not use chemicals, pesticides, or GM modified seeds, we try to avoid single use plastics (difficult with PPE these days), and where possible we use biodynamic principles too.
He and his wife Penny Nagle run the dairy and farm. The cheese business came about almost by accident, after Marcus was made redundant from a corporate job in London. He wanted to do something on the farm but at 22 acres it was too small to farm conventionally while making enough money to live on.
Marcus has always been obsessed with cheese and after a one-day course at River Cottage, there was no turning back. Just a few years into the adventure they have won numerous awards and the order book keeps getting fatter. In many ways, it seems that this is a mid-life crisis that seems to be panning out OK.
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12 Courses • 10 Expert TutorsRiver Cottage Next Level Diploma takes your cooking skills onto the next stage with River Cottage's team of chefs led by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.
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