Marcus Fergusson
Cheese Making at Home
- Regular price
- £150.00
- Sale price
- £150.00
- Regular price
Tax included.
Compare Expert and Peer
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
Independent Cookery Schools Association approved
This course has been approved by the Independent Cookery Schools Association (ICSA), recognising the highest standards of training.
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.
Lessons
What You’ll Learn
Explore the lessons and topics covered across the course.
In this first lesson, Marcus will guide you through the main ingredients and how to source them. You’ll learn all about cultures, rennet, the best milk to source, curds, cooking and draining.
Marcus will then guide you through the maturing and aging process: why this is done, what to look for during maturation right through to the finished product.
Marcus will discuss benefits of making cheese on a small scale at home-making versus professional.
When you're making cheese at home, we recommend you use pasteurised milk.
This lesson will guide you through making two very impressive cheeses. You’ll start with Camembert, a mould-ripened cheese particularly suitable for making at home.
Next, we'll learn how to make Caerphilly, a hard cheese that matures in as little as two weeks.
Both require very similar preparation and ingredients, but small variations lead to big differences in the finished product.
Your third cheese is Ricotta, which you’ll make from the whey left over from making the Caerphilly.
Marcus will also show you how to make one of the simplest cheeses of all, the Middle Eastern strained yoghurt cheese called Labneh and he'll show you how to prepare a simple starter using the whey from the labneh.
Marcus will also guide you through making your own equipment - which is not only a lot cheaper but creating your own moulds is brilliant creatively and can lead to new styles of cheeses, too.
Marcus will also guide you through aging and tasting cheeses, what to look out for and how to know when the cheeses you make on the course are at their flavourful best.
Learning options
Choose How You Want to Learn
Recommended
Expert
£150.00
A guided learning experience with expert support, feedback and recognised outcomes.
Peer
£95.00
Learn alongside others with a collaborative, flexible learning experience.
COURSE TUTOR
Marcus Fergusson
SUCCESS
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Common Questions
Answers to the most common questions about learning with us.
Our online classroom is designed to help you learn from experts in a collaborative, social environment alongside a small group of learners.
Each lesson combines expert-led videos with optional assignments, giving you the opportunity to apply what you’ve learned and share your work with others. You can take part in ongoing discussions, ask questions, exchange feedback, and learn from a community of like-minded people from around the world.
By learning together in a small, supportive group, you benefit not only from expert guidance but also from shared ideas, perspectives, and experiences—helping you stay engaged and retain what you learn.
You can start your course at any time within 12 months of purchase. Once you begin, you’ll have lifetime access, so you can revisit lesson videos and notes whenever you like.
Courses are designed to fit around your schedule, allowing you to learn at your own pace. Each lesson video is typically 30–40 minutes, and we recommend around an hour for each assignment.
Both Peer and Expert options give you full access to the course content, including lesson videos, downloadable notes, assignments, and a collaborative online classroom with up to 20 learners. You’ll also have lifetime access to revisit the material at any time.
The Expert option includes everything in Peer, plus personalised assignment feedback, direct messaging with your expert tutor, and a certificate of completion.
With the Expert option, you can interact directly with your tutor throughout the course. You’ll typically have one week per lesson to ask questions and receive feedback on your assignments, with as much interaction as you need during that time.
Your tutor access begins when you enter the classroom and follows the course schedule (for example, a four-lesson course usually runs over four weeks). If you need more time or support, our team is here to help.
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