Cape Cod Photography, Styling, & Cheesemaking Workshop

Just a little over a month ago, Eva and I were in the midst of hosting our photography, styling, and cheesemaking workshop in an adorable little lakeside cottage in Plymouth, MA. Now, as I write this post, we’re relaxing in a lovely apartment in downtown Stockholm with Izy, ready to head south for our Sweden workshop.

I can’t believe how quickly the past month has flown by, and that another workshop is just days away from beginning! Our last one was amazing (in case you couldn’t tell from the epic cheese spread above). We spent the weekend in a cozy little cottage on the ponds of Plymouth, surrounded by perfect New England spring weather and great company. We ate tons of food, including savory french toast, delicious clam chowder, caramelized ramp dip, and a strawberry gingerbread dutch baby (recipe for that coming soon!). We celebrated two birthdays. We ate cheese. We made cheese. We ate more cheese. It was awesome.

We had so many wonderful sponsors and guests for this workshop that I almost don’t even know where to begin. We were so thrilled to work with The New England Cheesemaking Supply Company, who has been a go-to resource for both of us since we began delving into the art of cheesemaking. The provided us with everything we needed to demonstrate all the basics, and put together awesome starter supply packs for each of our attendees. We were also beyond delighted to have an astonishing variety and amount of delicious cheeses! There were fresh and aged cheeses from Vermont Creamery (along with butter and crème fraîche), a delicious variety from Jasper Hill Farm, several cheddars of different ages from Grafton Village Cheese, two epic wheels of blue from Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company, a number of beautiful cheeses from Cowgirl Creamery, and some yummy almond milk cheeses from Kite Hill! We enjoyed all these (and our dinners) with some wonderful Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay from Sequoia Grove. We were also lucky enough to have Molly Browne from Jasper Hill Farm pop in on Saturday to dispense a virtually endless amount of cheese knowledge. (And to show us that the proper way to eat Harbison is to turn the rind into a serving dish by cutting off the top!) Eva and I also had the opportunity to pay a visit to Vermont Creamery on our way to Massachusetts, which was a wonderful experience. We toured their facilities, did a cheese tasting, took a trip over to their Ayers Brook Goat Dairy, and then joined everyone for a delicious dinner at Allison Hooper’s home. It was a fantastic experience!

I was also beyond excited to showcase a number of Vermont-made wares from companies that I love (and whose stores I have spent a fantastic amount of time and money in, as they’re both conveniently located mere blocks from my apartment in Burlington). Thank you so much to Bennington Potters for their white-on-white dinnerware. The mottled texture of the glaze is so unique and beautiful, and it made all of our tablescapes look so pretty. And a huge thanks to Vermont Farm Table for the gorgeous serving boards. (Dustin was kind enough to loan me a few of his one-of-a-kind, personal favorites. They were beyond beautiful, and made our epic cheese spreads look even more amazing!)

And a big thanks and a thousand hugs to our attendees: Becky, Brandy, C.J., Camaron, Jenn, Jennifer, Leslie, and Olga. We had such an amazing time getting to know everyone, and bonding over our love of photography, props, and food (and CHEESE). And the hugest of thanks to Renée Beaudoin, who came all the way out from Seattle to assist. She brought delicious Honor Society coffee, insanely tasty honey from Ballard Bee Company, and mad flora and tablescape skills, along with a seemingly psychic ability to intuit what Eva and I needed before we even knew it. We love you, Renée!

And last but certainly not least, an enormous thanks to all of our sponsors for making such an amazing workshop possible!

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welcome cards herb skillet recipe cards for each attendee

Bennington Potters
white-on-white dinnerware trigger mugs

Grafton Village Cheese
clothbound cheddar, 1 year aged cheddar, 2 year aged cheddar, sage cheddar, smoked chili cheddar

Heirloomed Collection
linen table runner linen placemats

Jasper Hill Farm
harbison moses sleeper oma weybridge

Kite Hill
almond milk cheeses in several varieties: ricotta, soft fresh original truffle dill & chive, soft ripened, plain chive cream cheeses

Luna Moss
stunning seasonal floral arrangements & installations

Nershi Woodworks
cheese boards knives for each attendee

New England Cheesemaking Supply Company
soft hard cheese sample packs, butter muslin, cheese molds for each attendee, plus cheesemaking kits other necessities for the workshop demos

Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company
original blue bay blue

Repeat Press
custom letterpress menus

Sequoia Grove
cabernet sauvignon chardonnay

Treehouse Chocolate Co.
gourmet drinking chocolate for each attendee

Vermont Creamery
bijou, bonne bouche, chèvre, coupole, crème fraîche, cremont, crottin, cultured butter, feta

Vermont Farm Table
beautiful serving boards

Also, you can listen to the First We Eat podcast about the workshop here, and check out the recaps by Eva, Becky, Jenn, and Jennifer!