The Epicurean Connection

The Epicurean Connection has run hands-on cheesemaking classes from its Sonoma headquarters since 1992, founded by Sheana Davis, a Sonoma-born cheesemaker who was personally mentored by MFK Fisher (the renowned American food writer) and Ig Vella (the second-generation owner of the legendary Vella Cheese Company). Davis is a working award-winning cheesemaker whose own Creme de Ricotta has won regional cheese competitions, and she has served as the curator of MFK Fisher's Last House since 2016, a stewardship of the writer's Glen Ellen home that comes with editorial weight in the Sonoma food community.

Classes run Thursday through Saturday in small groups of up to twelve: every guest makes their own 2-3 pound wheel of Creme de Ricotta in the wheel mold provided, watching milk transform into curds and finished cheese under Sheana's instruction. The class includes the science of cheesemaking, the cultural history of California artisan cheese, and a tasting flight of Sheana's other production cheeses. The Epicurean Connection format is intentionally personal: this is not a chain cooking school or a hotel concierge add-on; it is a small business led by Sheana Davis and wine educator Ben Sessions, who teach the classes themselves. Returning students who came as kids and now bring their own children. The MFK Fisher connection is the cultural depth that distinguishes Sheana's classes from anywhere else in California.