These
focused educational opportunities

will feature dynamic discussions between Mateo & our guest lecturers, taking a deep-dive into science & history to help demystify the complex world of artisan cheese.

And of course,
we’ll be doing
lots of tasting.

For each broadcast, we’ll be putting together a Tasting Kit

(the purchase of which includes registration for the class)

so that you can taste in real time alongside
Mateo & his guests.

Rachel Dutton is an Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology at UC San Diego. Dr. Dutton received her B.Sc. from UC San Diego and her Ph.D. in Microbiology from Harvard Medical School. The Dutton lab is working towards characterizing the diverse species interactions that occur within microbiomes, using simple, experimentally-tractable communities such as cheese as model systems.

For the past 10 years, the Dutton lab has worked closely with the Cellars at Jasper Hill to characterize the diversity of microbes involved in the aging of their cheeses. Dr. Dutton has been named an NIH Director’s New Innovator, a Packard Fellow, and a Pew Scholar, and her work has been featured in the New York Times, Wired, NPR, and Netflix. She also serves on the Leadership Team for UC San Diego's Center for Microbiome Innovation.

Benjamin Wolfe is an Associate Professor of microbiology in the Department of Biology at Tufts University. He received a B.Sc. in 2003 from Cornell University and a Ph.D. Harvard University in 2011. Benjamin's lab at Tufts uses fermented foods as model systems to identify the processes that shape the diversity of microbiomes.

In addition to research focused on the basic biology of microbes, the Wolfe lab has worked with chefs and food producers to understand the roles of microbes in creating the diversity of flavors in fermented foods. Benjamin has also written about the biology of food for various publications, including Lucky Peach magazine, Boston magazine, and World of Fine Wine.

Rachel & Ben will begin by explaining what initially sparked their interest in cheese, telling the story of how their relationship with the Cellars has grown since we first started working together. From there, Mateo will lead a guided walkthrough of the vaults, highlighting examples of varying stages of rind development & pausing to taste cheeses.

As we taste, Ben & Rachel will discuss the science behind each flavor profile, cheese-by-cheese. Learn about cheese rind microbiomes, aromatic compounds, & how microbial diversity contributes to flavor development as Rachel, Ben, & Mateo work together to provide a scientific narrative for your sensory experience.

*These microscope photos, from Rachel & Ben’s research, offer a glimpse into the structure of cheese rind microbiomes. From top to bottom: bloomy-rind, washed-rind, & natural-rind microflora.