Some of the award-winning cheeses from Fat Sheep Farm in Vermont, which offers hands-on cheese making workshops.

Fat Sheep Farm

In the culinary world, Vermont is world famous for maple syrup and known as one of the craft beer epicenters of the world, with more breweries per capita than any other state. But as a Vermont resident and New York Times bestselling food author who has specialized in regional, authentic and artisanal products—especially cheese—I have always been most proud of our dairies. It’s the second least populous state, yet craft producers manage to make just about every major style, raw and aged, soft and hard, with every kind of milk, goat, sheep, cow and mixed. They also often use milk from naturally raised, free range animals, decidedly not the industry norm, foregoing the bulk commercial cheese factories the Midwest is known for in favor of small batch, craft products. Vermont is home to the nation’s largest cheese ageing cave, and not surprisingly, its cheeses have won tons of international awards and competition medals. It is also flush with artisan bakers, and there is now one place where you can enjoy the rural farmstead lifestyle while taking cheese and bread making classes in beautiful Vermont.

Fat Sheep Farm in Hartland, VT has won numerous medals for its cheeses, and most recently, at the high profile national 2025 American Cheese Society competition, this tiny operation took home three more, including First and Third Places in the highly competitive Farmstead Cheeses category. It got top scores for its Spanish-inspired sheep’s milk cheese, Manchiko, and a second award for Meadow’s Magic. Fat Sheep also won Second Place in American Made International Style for its Autumn’s Blend, a mix of milk from sheep and Jersey Cows. They make several other cheeses as well as yogurt.

Fat Sheep also operates five cabins for overnight guests, and its farm stay experiences have been praised by the likes of Travel + Leisure and Food & Wine magazine (“Take an idyllic vacation that supports an independent farmer”), while USA Today put it on its 10 Best List for “fantastic farms stays where you can experience country life”—the only winner in all of New England. The Boston Globe said, “Fat Sheep Farm & Cabins drew us in, fed us, comforted us, entertained us, and made us never want to leave.” New England’s venerable Yankee Magazine named them Vermont’s Best Farm Stay, and Matador Network put their “farm stay and cheesemaking workshop” at Number One on its list of “5 Culinary Experiences You Can Only Have in Vermont.”

There are three options for workshops. Cheesemaker For A Day is offered Mondays and Thursdays from June to September, and is more focused on education and demonstration, for very small groups. A maximum of two visitors (12 or older) shadow cheesemaker Suzy Kaplan for 3-4 hours, while she transforms that morning’s milk into a solid and moves it to the ageing cave, leaving with a basic make at home recipe ($100 for single or $175 for two).

As its name suggests, you get more involved with Kaplan’s Hands-on Cheesemaking Workshop, which is offered all year round by reservation. The type of cheese you make varies by season and could be a fresh (styles inspired by Halloumi, feta or ricotta) or hard aged cheese (gouda or Manchego-style, and they ship you your own wheel when it is done ageing, a nice follow up souvenir). The workshop covers the various kinds of milk used to make cheeses and guides each guest through the process. It is only for one private group per day, up to six people ($450 for two and $125 for each additional).

Private Sourdough Bread Baking Workshops are also offered on a by-reservation basis all year round. You’ll make your own bread while learning about making dough, shaping loaves and how to bake, and you’ll go back to your cabin (each has full kitchen) with second portion of dough to bake a bonus loaf. You also take home some of Kaplan’s all important starter, the foundation of all sourdough baking ($150-$400 for 1-4 guests).

Fat Sheep raises sheep, chickens and goats, and these are free ranging and supplemented as needed with non-GMO organic feed. They also grow a wide variety of vegetables, including many heirloom varieties, and maintain a self-serve farm stand for guests to access and cook with during their stays. In addition to the workshops, Fat Sheep offers guests the opportunity to sign up for a garden tour or participate in morning animal chores, a big hit with children and families.

You do not need to stay here to participate in the cheese and bread workshops, but the farm has five freestanding cabins, all relatively new, spacious and modern, with air conditioning, full kitchens, porches, and separate living, dining and sleeping areas. Guests get delicious (seriously!) home baked scones and fresh eggs from farm chickens they can cook to their liking, as well as a curated list of local dining spots (just 5-minutes away is one of my favorite restaurants in Vermont, the delicious and atmospheric Skunk Hollow Tavern, set in a 200-plus year old Colonial building from the 18^th century, with beautiful outdoor garden dining in summer). I also wrote about places in Vermont where you can enjoy amaizng faarm-to-table dinners here at Forbes.

Along with the other farm buildings, construction, design and operation of cabins at Fat Sheep features a strong commitment to sustainability. Several are pet friendly, and in winter, the farm is positioned about midway between two major Vermont destination ski areas, Okemo and Killington, each about 40 minutes. For those visiting in summer, check out this guide to the Best Golf in Vermont at Forbes. It is surrounded by great hiking, including the Appalachian Trail and a Vermont highlight, Ascutney State Park, just minutes away. Also, very close by is one of the best mountain biking destinations in the Northeast, the extensive system of acclaimed Ascutney Trails.

There are a lot of other great cheesemakers in Vermont, and some of my personal favorites to try would be Jasper Hill Farm, Von Trapp Farmstead and Lazy Lady Farm, but very few places offer classes like these. However, for bread lovers, as a bonus, the world headquarters of King Arthur Flour is just 20 minutes away. Perhaps the most famous name in American baking, King Arthur’s high quality and very specialized flours, accessories, ingredients, tools and cookbooks are available at stores nationwide and by mail order, but their flagship store is a monument to baking, stocked with drool-worthy items many cooks never knew existed, and has a full service bakery and café.

King Arthur also hosts an ongoing series of classes, many with renowned guest bakers, in more than a dozen distinct categories such as Biscuits & Scones, British Baking, Holiday Baking, Pastas & Noodles, Pizzas and Flatbreads and many more. One day you can learn to make Shanghai soup dumplings and the next laminated croissants. These range from 90-minutes to several days each, and are offered at least several days a week, and seven days a week in peak spring to fall season.

Combining the cheese and baking classes at Fat Sheep Farm with King Arthur makes a great combination for food lovers and is also a perfect gift or celebratory road trip. To top it off, within a short drive of Fat Sheep is a leading artisanal jam shop with tastings, Blake Hill Preserves, the Silo Distillery, and Harpoon Brewery, offering a concise taste of everything the Green Mountain State is famous for. It’s a great opportunity for food lovers to try delicious cheese and bread making classes in beautiful Vermont.