EAST LANSING, Mich. — Joshua Hall and Gary Smith, owners and cheesemakers at Leelanau Cheese in Suttons Bay, Mich., will share their talent and expertise during a three-day Artisan Cheese Workshop Feb. 29-March 2 at the Michigan State University Dairy plant.

In addition to being proprietors of Leelanau Cheese, Hall and Smith are Michigan State University extension educators. The pair worked in the Michigan State University dairy plant where they honed their knowledge of the production and process of cheesemaking.

Hall is an award-winning cheese maker holding two red ribbons from the American Cheese Society and the society also recognizes him as a certified cheese professional. While Smith has a wealth of experience in cheesemaking operations.

Since they left Michigan State and moved on to Leelanau Cheese they have maintained the relationship with the University through the extension program. “Gary and I were partners there at Michigan State with the Dairy Foods Complex and, you know, have moved on to Leelanau Cheese during that COVID window, but we felt strongly about the need for that class continuing with its affiliation at MSU,” Hall said. “We’ve got some extension people at Michigan State that are also really committed to keep it going, and we’re trying to support that effort now.”

“We’ve had to re-create the curriculum because there’s not much-remaining dairy staff  at Michigan State and Dairy specific staff that could execute a processing course with respect to fermented foods.”

The course is designed for those who plan to, or currently produce cheese commercially and covers, sanitation and food safety review, basics of cheesemaking, business planning and budgets, and network for sales.

Participants will learn how to make both hard and soft cheeses, the art and science of making fine cheese, the importance of starting with high-quality milk, and understanding and using cultures for cheese varieties.

“The whole bent of our course is to acquaint individuals, if not, provide a comprehensive understanding with the resources that are available, so they can understand the regulatory requirements so that they can produce a reliable and safe source of food for the public,” Hall said.

The workshop provides an opportunity for dairy producers, who are searching for ways to gain additional value from their product during economic downturns, another revenue stream in an emerging market.

“As the public demand for fluid milk continues to decrease, there has been a steady demand and an increase for locally produced dairy products, specifically artisanal and select cheeses,” Hall said.

The largest segment of those in attendance are people who raise goats, sheep, and cows and are looking for value-added opportunities in animal husbandry. However, dairy producers aren’t the only group represented. Large companies, government inspectors as well as those with a casual interest also attend.

“Last year when we did this class we had individuals from one of the largest, if not the largest cheese producer in Michigan, come with a small contingent with the interest of exposing their processors and technicians,” Hall said. “They’re very well acquainted with their systems but don’t understand the underlying science and what’s going on in the cheese-making process.” 

The same may be said for employees of the Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development (MDARD), which has been sending employees to the workshop for several years. 

“They don’t have experience in cheese making and they have the burden of inspecting a dairy facility that’s processing cheese, but they don’t know a lot about the actual process of cheese making and what they can expect,” Hall said. “They want to understand the process without having to burden the plants that they oversee to become educators as well.”

Hall and Smith have been Proprietors of Leelanau Cheese since 2021 where they continue to produce award-winning Raclette, a semi-soft washed-rind cow’s milk cheese, in the tradition of the original owners, John and Anne Hoyt, who brought the cheese from Switzerland where they learned to make it. “We may add some additional cheeses for our interest or fun over the years, but our primary, vision will always be to provide this alpine-style cheese both in a young melting iteration and in an older iteration that is more like a gruyere-comte style cheese.”

‘Raclette’ comes from the French word ‘racler,’ meaning to scrape. Raclette is traditionally served on a giant wheel of cheese that is heated and scraped on a plate over root vegetables and cured meats.

“For us, that’s a fascinating duality that we are producing a cheese that most Americans would identify as a very mild, slightly funky cheese if they were to consume it on a charcuterie board,” Hall said. “But it’s also this communal meal that’s been around for hundreds of years. That’s the vision and the passion for us to maintain the previous owner’s tradition, of making this cheese.”

Local sourcing allows Hall and Smith frequent interaction with the farmers that produce the milk that they use for their cheese. “We understand what changes are happening on the farm from the bedding to the food the animals are eating and the impact it has on the components of the milk that we’re receiving,” Hall said. “That type of oversight gets diluted the larger that expanse gets.”

For more information visit www.canr.msu.edu/news/give-the-gift-of-cheesemaking