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Murray's Boot Camp

Spend your weekend learning and tasting what we know best: cheese! Murray’s three-day Boot Camp is for cheese enthusiasts and professionals alike who seek a strong (and tasty) foundation in the world of cheese.

Our weekend-long class is a serious course of study and includes suggested readings, optional take-home assignments, and a final exam. Successful completion of the program is awarded with a Certificate of Achievement.

After three days of lectures, demonstrations, and tastings in our Greenwich Village classroom and caves, each student will be able to differentiate cheese styles, describe cheeses in depth, and pair like a pro.

Boot Camp fills up quickly, so don't miss out. To stay in the loop on upcoming dates, sign up for our newsletter here. If you have questions about Boot Camp, please email us at

Who should attend boot camp?

Recommended for:

Serious cheese enthusiasts: You know it, we know it: cheese has arrived. Time to get a crash course on one of food's hottest subjects.

Wine, beer, beverage, mixology professionals: Grow your knowledge of fermented foodstuffs with this cheese intensive. Make your wine shine and your beer cheer with expert pairings.

Career changers: Jump up from that desk and onto a cheese counter. Learn all you need to dive head first into the cheese world and its many career opportunities.

What should I expect from boot camp?

  • 15 hours of instruction from our in-house experts
  • 10% discount at Murray's for all purchases made during Boot Camp weekend
  • The Murray's Cheese Handbook
  • The Boot Camp class binder, chock-full of cheese literature, cheese charts, cheese facts, tasting forms, and more

Boot Camp Dates

* Required Fields

What You're In For

SESSION 1: From Milk to Cheese: Introduction to Milk Chemistry, Cheesemaking, and Evaluating Cheese

Welcome to Cheese Boot Camp: no ordinary cheese course. Collect your binders, complete with readings for each session, and get a crash course on the common thread throughout the series: tasting. Explore the role raw materials and technique shape the final product of cheese through milk science and sensory observation. Taste through a bevy of cheese styles and introduce your palate to the flavor characteristics of each and every family of cheese. In assessing major cheese styles, you’ll arm yourself with the skills to identify nearly any cheese that crosses your path.

SESSION 2: Affinage In Action: Hands On

Ah, affinage: that magical final step in the cheesemaking process, the culmination of every measure taken to ensure an exceptional wheel of cheese, and the process that can determine whether your cheese becomes nutty and full bodied or rubbery and dry. Observe how, through brushing, washing, patting, flipping and other methods, affinage changes the flavor, texture, appearance, and durability of cheese. This session, be one with the cheese, as we guide you through an extended cave tour and tasting, illustrating the integral role that aging plays in the flavor development of cheese.

SESSION 3: Old World vs. New World: The History & Geography of Cheese

In this session, understand how history, politics, and religion have influenced cheesemaking and cheese styles. How does a country's topography influence its cheese production? What are the origins of cheese? How have cheesemaking methods evolved through time? During an international crash course on the world's greatest cheese regions and the fromage that made them famous, learn about the pivotal elements of history and geography that have influenced cheesemaking styles.

SESSION 4: Cheese in Practice

In this session, we're putting our knowledge to the test! Learn how to plate and portion the cheeses we've tasted thus far for presentation, creating your own fantastic cheese plate. We'll blind taste cheeses to determine which milks and techniques were utilized, as well as in what regions the cheeses originated. Finally, we'll prepare ourselves for an extensive beverage pairing session by partnering cheese with a variety of condiments of all flavor profiles to create our own perfect matches.

SESSION 5: The Pair Off: Wine vs Beer

After twelve hours of exhaustive cheese research, it's time for an afternoon of matchmaking. Understand in full the pairing capabilities and fundamentals of both wine and beer with our cheesy little friends, and learn for yourself how the unique craft of pairing correctly makes your cheese sing.

Boot Camp Schedule

Session 1: Friday, 6:30 pm-9:30 pm

Session 2: Saturday, 10:30 am-1:30 pm

Session 3: Saturday, 3:30 pm-6:30 pm

Session 4: Sunday, 10:30 am-1:30 pm

Session 5: Sunday, 3:30 pm-6:30 pm


“I use something I learned in Boot Camp every day.” – Brian McKay, Champaign, IL