As a Cheesemaker, you’ll be part artist, part scientist, and part culinary expert. In this role, you will work with various types of milk, cultures, and equipment to create a wide range of cheeses. You’ll operate pasteurisers, vats, presses, and aging rooms, carefully controlling temperature, humidity, and other factors that influence cheese development.
Your deep understanding of fermentation processes, flavour profiles, and food safety will be crucial in producing high-quality cheeses. You’ll also need to stay updated on industry trends and consumer preferences to develop new and exciting cheese varieties. In this role, you will be deeply involved in the entire cheesemaking process, from milk reception to final packaging. You’ll assess the quality of incoming milk, adjusting your recipes and techniques based on seasonal variations in milk composition. You’ll carefully measure and add cultures and rennet, monitoring the curdling process with a trained eye. As the cheese forms, you’ll cut, stir, and heat the curds with precision, knowing that each action influences the final product. You’ll then oversee the moulding, pressing, and salting stages, each step requiring careful attention to detail. Furthermore, as a Cheesemaker, you’ll be responsible for the crucial aging process. You’ll manage the aging rooms, controlling temperature and humidity to create the perfect environment for each cheese variety. You’ll regularly inspect the cheeses, turning them and brushing or washing the rinds as needed.
Your expertise will be essential in determining when each cheese has reached its peak flavour and texture. You’ll also conduct sensory evaluations, tasting cheeses at various stages of maturation to ensure they’re developing as intended. Your refined palate and ability to detect subtle flavour nuances will be key in maintaining consistency and quality across batches.