Private Cheese Making Tour, Tasting and Lunch with an Award-Winning Cheese Maker - Day Trip

Traveling Spoon

Jenny and her partner Toby (who always dreamed of owning a farm) own and run a dairy farm and cheese production facility that produces award-winning cheese. They first started in the industry with an olive oil and Italian products company that specialized in importing Italian mozzarella. However, transporting the cheese became difficult and Jenny and Toby were struck that Cork had underutilized green pastures that might help solve their cheese transportation issues. They decide to produce fresh, Italian-style mozzarella from the high-quality milk of Ireland's pasture-grazed cows. Initially, Jenny and Toby worked with a local milk farmer, and eventually they opened their own dairy and cheese-making facility that provides cheese to several restaurants and is sold at farmer’s markets around the country. They also have a sheep farm and make a variety of delicious sheep cheeses. Their smoked scamorza cheese won the Blas Na Heireann award for best smoked cheese! Come visit Jenny and Toby and learn about how this couple followed their dream and to create an incredible product with local ingredients. For this experience, meet your host at their family-owned dairy for a private cheese tour and tasting. You will start your experience with a hot cup of tea or coffee at their garden cafe before you head to the cheese production facility for a tour. Learn about the process of making cheese and watch as the cheese makers that Jenny brought over from Napoli stretch curd to make fresh cheeses, from mozzarella and burrata to scamorza. Get a tour of the aging room and discover the array of maturing hung cheeses before Jenny grabs a few fresh cheese samples for you to try during your tasting. Your tour will last about 30 minutes before you head back to the cafe to enjoy a tasting of five different cheeses. Some of the cheeses you might try are mozzarella, burrata, ricotta, halloumi, scamorza, pecorino and caciocavallo. Jenny will pair your cheese with ingredients that elevate their flavor - burrata or mozzarella freshly made that morning with a splash of olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar, grilled halloumi with fresh bread or a dollop of ricotta with a drizzle of local honey. After your tasting, you can opt to drive 10 minutes through the woodlands for a short walk to the sheep pastures or stay and get a tour of the herb and vegetable garden. As you walk through the garden you might pick up your own herbs for your salad or pizza lunch. Return with Jenny to the cafe or patio (weather permitting) for a lunch that includes a wood-fired pizza, using a selection of your favorite cheeses and toppings, along with an organically-grown seasonal side salad with garden herbs and pecorino. Your cheese tour, tasting and pizza lunch will last about 2.5 hours.

Vacation Inclusions

• Cheese Tour and Tasting
• Lunch Tour (11-2pm)
• Vegetarian Options available
• Alcohol available

Featured Destinations

Cork Cork A town of churches, bridges and pubs, Cork is best known for Blarney Castle where you are invited to kiss the famed stone to acquire the "gift of gab." St. Patrick Street, the town's main thoroughfare, is good for shopping and people watching. See the Shandon bells in St. Anne's church. Those who are willing to climb the 134 winding steps to the top of the steeple will be rewarded with a wondrous view of the city, harbor and hills.

Destination Guide

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