Classes, Events, and In-Store Tastings
Our popular cheese, wine, beer, and cooking classes offer an opportunity to learn from our expert staff while experiencing our best products and recipes. We also frequently welcome our friends from the food and beverage community for cooking demonstrations and classes. From sessions on culture and cuisine to lessons on basics of tasting and pairing cheese, wine, and beer, the Formaggio Kitchen classroom is always a lively, delicious experience.
Classes usually run an hour and half to two hours. Most classes are held at our Classroom Annex, located at 67 Smith Place in Cambridge. (Click here for directions to the Classroom Annex.) We occasionally hold classes at our Huron Avenue location, and we conduct a short tour of our cheese caves at the end of sessions held there. Please make note of the location of your class.
We also regularly welcome artisan producers to our store for tastings. A schedule of those events is included below, and reservations are not necessary. During wine tastings, customers are welcome to a 15% discount on cases of featured wines.
To purchase a spot, select the class you are interested in from the list below and register online, or call 617-354-4750. Please have your credit card number ready. If you have any questions, please email classes@formaggiokitchen.com. Lastly, please make note of our cancellation policy.
For any classes or events involving tastings of beer or wine, we validate legal age of our participants.
We regularly serve wine, beer, and other non-cheese items at our classes. Please notify us at least 24 hours in advance of the class if you have any dietary restrictions by calling 617-354-4750.
CLASSES + EVENTS
Sunday, May 19, 5:30pm: Brave the Caves - An Underground Cheese Lesson, $55 - SOLD OUT.
The chilly stone caves beneath our Cambridge store hold hundreds of pounds of cheese, from 80-pound wheels of Comté to delicate-rinded blues to small logs of Belgian goat's milk cheese destined for our in-house aging program. Go spelunking with Tyler, FK's cave manager, and Matthew, our resident cheese science buff, and explore the science and secrets of our caves. You'll head underground with them to view and discuss the crucial role these temperature- and humidity-controlled rooms play in cheese aging, storage, and maintenance, and round out the lesson by tasting a few examples of what you've learned. Be prepared for cave-like conditions by wearing a sweater or light jacket and shoes that can get a bit wet.
Please call 617-354-4750 or email classes@formaggiokitchen.com to be added to the waiting list.
Tuesday, May 21, 6:30pm: Pig Butchery with M.F. Dulock, $65.
You asked for more butchery, so we're back with another animal! Here's an opportunity to view pig butchery with Michael Dulock, proprietor of Somerville craft butcher shop M.F. Dulock Pasture-Raised Meat.
Michael will demonstrate how to break down a locally-raised pig into smaller parts for use in charcuterie or meal preparation. Guests will taste pig-inspired dishes, including samples of our housemade charcuterie.
Sunday, June 9, 5:30pm: Brave the Caves - An Underground Cheese Lesson, $55 - SOLD OUT.
The chilly stone caves beneath our Cambridge store hold hundreds of pounds of cheese, from 80-pound wheels of Comté to delicate-rinded blues to small logs of Belgian goat's milk cheese destined for our in-house aging program. Go spelunking with Tyler, FK's cave manager, and Matthew, our resident cheese science buff, and explore the science and secrets of our caves. You'll head underground with them to view and discuss the crucial role these temperature- and humidity-controlled rooms play in cheese aging, storage, and maintenance, and round out the lesson by tasting a few examples of what you've learned. Be prepared for cave-like conditions by wearing a sweater or light jacket and shoes that can get a bit wet.
Please call 617-354-4750 or email classes@formaggiokitchen.com to be added to the waiting list.
Thursday, June 13, 6:30pm: Cheese, Beer and Charcuterie, $55.
In this session, we're tasting our way around the ultimate trifecta: beer, cheese, and meat. Ales, lagers, stouts, and the rest of their barley-based brethren make excellent partners for the salty, savory goodness of artisan cheeses and charcuterie. Join Adam and Ross for a lesson in pairing, tasting, and enjoying this toothsome trio. You'll taste various types of beer with an assortment of cheese and charcuterie treats, including our fantastic housemade pâtés, dry-cured salami, and more. You'll also learn a bit about how beer, cheese, and charcuterie is made. (Hint, hint! This class would make a great present for Dad - Father's Day is the following Sunday.)
Sunday, June 16, 12:00pm: Hands-On Workshop with Nella Pasta, $85.
Tucking into a plate of handmade pasta is one of life's greatest pleasures, and when it's your hands that made it, there's an extra dimension of satisfaction. Drop in for an afternoon with the ladies of Boston-based Nella Pasta and learn pasta-making basics in this three-hour hands-on workshop. They'll show how to make and fill ravioli, as well as demonstrate other pasta varieties. They'll share and make their favorite seasonal recipes for filings and sauces, and you'll sample it all, of course.
Thursday, June 20, 6:30pm: Merroir-Terroir: Oysters and Wine with Island Creek Oysters, $55.
What do oysters and wines have in common? Complex flavors, the Old World and the New, cultural touchstones, aphrodisia, and a connection between taste and place. In wine, textures and flavors that come from specific growing regions is called terroir. For bivalve aficionados, merroir is the equivalent concept, one that our experts from Island Creek will explore thoroughly in this class. Sample five different species of oysters at the peak of their season, each paired meticulously with wines from around the world. Wine expert and Island Creek Oyster Bar general manager Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli will join shellfish experts from the Island Creek farm for an edible lesson in merroir and terroir.
Please call 617-354-4750 or email classes@formaggiokitchen.com to be added to the waiting list.
Sunday, June 23, 5:30pm: Cheese 101, $45.
Our most popular class! Our cheesemongers will help you broaden your knowledge of one of our favorite subjects. We will talk about the history and process of cheesemaking, and how our favorite modern-day cheesemakers (many of whom we have visited) are embracing artisan traditions. Learn the basics of tasting and building your own cheese plate, and sample a few wines and beers for good measure. The evening concludes with a rare treat - a peek into our cheese caves.
Tuesday, June 25, 6:30pm: Entertaining with Summer Wines and Cheeses, $55.
Along with warm breezes and longer days, summer weather also heralds crisp, refreshing wines (it's rosé season!), beautiful fresh cheeses, and afternoons and evenings spent enjoying these seasonal treats with friends and family. Join summer enthusiasts Jess and Julia for a session geared toward summer entertaining, with a guided tour through some of their favorite warm weather pairings. You'll take a few tips for your own backyard soirées from this delicious evening while enjoying amazing wines, artisan cheeses, and condiments that scream summer.
Sunday, July 7, 2013 5:30pm: Cheese 101, $45.
Our most popular class! Our cheesemongers will help you broaden your knowledge of one of our favorite subjects. We will talk about the history and process of cheesemaking, and how our favorite modern-day cheesemakers (many of whom we have visited) are embracing artisan traditions. Learn the basics of tasting and building your own cheese plate, and sample a few wines and beers for good measure. The evening concludes with a rare treat - a peek into our cheese caves.
Tuesday, July 9, 2013, 6:30pm: Grilling Seafood with Chris Schlesinger, $65.
If you need proof of the long-standing relationship between grilling and the ocean, look no further than the beaches of the world. In this cooking demonstration, restaurateur and cookbook author Chris Schlesigner will share the seafood grilling techniques he uses. He'll cover grilled shellfish, shrimp, fish steaks and fillets. He'll share his three secrets for how to keep your seafood from sticking to the grill grate. Paired with the food for this class will be a thirst quenching line-up of summer wines for you to sip on while you learn from the master.
Friday, July 12, 2013, 6:30pm: France vs. the USA, $55.
The last twenty years have seen an incredible resurgence in American artisan cheesemaking. We've come a long (and respectable) way. But are we ready to take on the big boys in the world of cheese? Dare we face off against the French? Join South End Formaggio's domestic cheese buyer, Sarah, and Cambridge's very own francophile, Adam, for a tasty evening of sampling some of the best cheeses, condiments, and wines these two world-class countries have to offer. Then help decide who comes out on top! Come see the red, white, and blue take on the...red, white, and blue. It's apple pie versus croissants, the 4th of July versus Bastille Day, Bruce Springsteen versus terrible French techno-pop!
Sunday, July 14, 2013: Hands-On Jam Making Workshop with Bonnie's Jams, $55.
The time is summer and all the fresh fruits and berries are growing right in our Massachusetts back yard. With summer comes longer days, brighter colors and the smells of ripe fruit and blooming flowers. Summer is a time of hope and happiness, of relaxation and reflection. July is the time of blackberries! Join Bonnie Shershow of Bonnie's jams and learn how to jar that feeling and those flavors. Bonnie will share some of her favorite recipes and jam-making secrets. Bonnie cooks her jam to match the flavors she remembers from a childhood spent in her family home surrounded by orchards of fruit trees and berry bushes in Southern California. We will be exploring basic preservation and learning what to do with all that extra summer fruit!
Tuesday, July 16, 2013: Grilling 101 with Chris Schlesinger, 65.
Bonus round! If you've been lucky enough to sample the flavorful fare at East Coast Grill in Cambridge, you know Chris Schlesinger knows his way around a grill. In this class, the legendary grillmeister, restaurateur, and cookbook author will make sure you leave this session ready for a summer of bold, flame-cooked food. His cooking demonstration will cover all the basics, including fuel, tools, and techniques, with a focus on easy ways to add big flavors. He'll provide recipes to take home, and there'll be plenty of sampling. And since a summer meal isn't complete without a cold beverage, we'll wash it all down with a couple of Chris' favorite local beers.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013: Taste of Summer - The Cuisine of the Mediterranean, $55.
From the hot and spicy Spanish coast to the sun-drenched beaches of Naples, the Mediterranean is home to some of the greatest foods in the world, and they are at their absolute best at the peak of summer. Fresh fruits and vegetables, even fresher seafood, exotic spices - this region has something tasty for everyone! Join wine buyer and cheesemonger extraordinaire Jessica and food anthropology nerd and eating enthusiast Adam for a tour of this amazing culinary region. You'll try authentic dishes from lands that touch the warm and ancient Mediterranean Sea - Spain, Italy, France...maybe even Africa! Of course, no tour-de-cuisine would be complete without sampling some of the finest wines these countries have to offer. Come have a true taste of summer!
Sunday, July 28, 2013: Brave the Caves: An Underground Cheese Lesson, $55.
The chilly stone caves beneath our Cambridge store hold hundreds of pounds of cheese, from 80-pound wheels of Comté to delicate-rinded blues to small logs of Belgian goat's milk cheese destined for our in-house aging program. Go spelunking with Liz, one of FK's cave assistants, and Matthew, our resident cheese science buff, and explore the science and secrets of our caves. You'll head underground with them to view and discuss the crucial role these temperature- and humidity-controlled rooms play in cheese aging, storage, and maintenance, and round out the lesson by tasting a few examples of what you've learned. Be prepared for cave-like conditions by wearing a sweater or light jacket and shoes that can get a bit wet.
IN-STORE TASTINGS + EVENTS
Friday, May 17, 5pm-7pm: Jeannie Rogers from Adonna Imports
Organic Italian wines for your early summer meals!
Friday, May 17, 4pm-7pm: Nutting Farm Maple Syrup
Mmmm....maple syrup. Delicious tasting for your breakfast splurges.
Sunday, May 19, 11am-2pm: Patti from On The Edge Knife Sharpening
Bring dull edges of all sorts - knives, scissors, garden tools - to Patti, who'll sharpen them up on the spot.
Saturday, May 25, 11am-2pm: Poco Delicia
Our own Selma is debuting her chocolatey delights. You won't to miss it.
Friday, May 25, 5pm-7pm: John Richardson from Ruby Wines
Beautiful Chateau Lavernette Wines.
Thursday, May 30, 5pm-7pm: David Mitchell
Organic wines for any season.
Sunday, June 16, 11am-2pm: Patti from On The Edge Knife Sharpening
Bring dull edges of all sorts - knives, scissors, garden tools - to Patti, who'll sharpen them up on the spot.
Sunday, July 21, 11am-2pm: Patti from On The Edge Knife Sharpening
Bring dull edges of all sorts - knives, scissors, garden tools - to Patti, who'll sharpen them up on the spot.
Sunday, August 18, 11am-2pm: Patti from On The Edge Knife Sharpening
Bring dull edges of all sorts - knives, scissors, garden tools - to Patti, who'll sharpen them up on the spot.
Sunday, September 15, 11am-2pm: Patti from On The Edge Knife Sharpening
Bring dull edges of all sorts - knives, scissors, garden tools - to Patti, who'll sharpen them up on the spot.
Sunday, October 20, 11am-2pm: Patti from On The Edge Knife Sharpening
Bring dull edges of all sorts - knives, scissors, garden tools - to Patti, who'll sharpen them up on the spot.
Sunday, November 17, 11am-2pm: Patti from On The Edge Knife Sharpening
Bring dull edges of all sorts - knives, scissors, garden tools - to Patti, who'll sharpen them up on the spot.
Sunday, December 15, 11am-2pm: Patti from On The Edge Knife Sharpening
Bring dull edges of all sorts - knives, scissors, garden tools - to Patti, who'll sharpen them up on the spot.
Class Policies
Our schedule of classes is a living, breathing thing and we sometimes add new classes due to customer interest and we sometimes (rarely!) cancel a class due to low enrollment. If we must cancel a class, we will notify those who signed up and we will happily offer you a credit for another class of your choice.
If a class is sold out, you can still be added to a waiting list. If a spot opens up, we will call the people on our wait list in order.
Cancellation PolicyFor individual classes: If you are unable to attend a class, please let us know at least 48 hours before the class is scheduled to take place and we will give you a full refund or a credit for a future class. If you let us know within 48 hours of the class, we will refund the class fee less a $20 charge. For classes $50 and more, the charge is $30. If you don't let us know in advance of the class, you are not entitled to any refund or credit.