I attended the 3-hr Beginner Cheese Making Workshop- Demonstration Class at Standing Stone Farms. The class was taught by Paula in her home. For about the first hour we were seated and she went over the history of cheese, how it was discovered, and how it was cultivated. I found that all pretty interesting! I love cheese, but I'd never really thought about how it came to be, lol. She then proceeded to talk about the process of making cheese and butter. Then we did a little hands on participation activity where we got to make our own "shake" butter, and then sampled it along with some crackers and seasonings. After, Paula started making ricotta and mozzarella cheeses and walked us through the process step by step. This part was not hands on for the attendees, but still pretty cool to watch and informative. When the cheeses were made, we got to help ourselves to plenty of samples! I really enjoyed the fresh ricotta... especially when mixed with fruit and vanilla! Overall, pretty neat experience! I was hoping we'd actually get to make some cheese ourselves, but I at least left with the knowledge on how, and a booklet with directions! This class would be excellent for a date.. especially as it's bring your own wine :) read more

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My mother and I spent the most delightful day today at Standing Stone Farms where we were greeted and ushered into our cheesemaking class!! The short of it is I'll never buy store-bought butter again, and my mother says she'll never buy store-bought Ricota cheese ever again!! The class had a great pace and the size was perfect to be able to fully delve in and learn. Paula has a wealth of knowledge from the history of cheese to Nubian goats and cooking. It was an absolute delight to be there today. The options and possibilities for cheese making are endless and I can't wait to get involved in making my own cheese at home!! Go to their website, check out their cheese classes and supplies and don't miss an opportunity like this. You won't be disappointed!! The step-by-step instructions and the attention to detail are so great and if followed properly cheese making can be achieved---at home!! Thanks again Paula & Standing Stone Farms!! TB & EB read more

Like the other reviewers state, it was a hard class to get into and I also waited a year to get into the class. Let's just say that patience is not my virtue. I used that time to teach myself (all the wrong ways) to make cheese at home. I made dry, squeaky 'ricotta', grainy 'ricotta'...in fact, the only way I could get it to taste acceptable was to make it out of 100% cream and then, can we even call it ricotta anymore? Again, patience is not my virtue. So, me and my bad attitude...I was not pleased with the long wait time to get in the class and I was prepared to not be impressed by the class (you know what I mean, when you go into something already having judged it a little) Well, Paula knocked my socks off! The class was SO engaging. I was listening the entire time, which again says alot because my mind tends to wander when I'm not 100% interested. We made ricotta (PS I cant believe how many things I was doing wrong at home. no wonder my ricotta was inedible), mozz and butter and had a blast the whole time. The entire class was having fun. It is great for any age too. I could really see kids having a blast making the butter. I am going to enroll in the hands on class with a friend because I just think it would be so much darned fun. If you are considering this class I would say absolutely it is worth the money, but I would also tell you that you should be aware that this is kind of a home business type situation, so they might not always answer the phone and you will have to wait to get into the classes. Thats just the way it is. :) Paula was most responsive over email, so I suggest emailing her if you want to get the quickest response. In the end, this was one class that was worth the patience! PS, dont forget its BYOB! read more

Standing Stone Farm - Couldnt resist posting this adorable pic! - Cooking Schools Near Me - Gallatin, Tennessee

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This was a hard class to get into. I waited a year for a spot to open up. It was certainly worth the wait. Paula was an amazing teacher. We got to hold the baby goats which was an extra special treat. read more

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My boyfriend and I recent spent a Sunday afternoon at the Beginner's Cheese Making Class and it was awesome! Paula does a great job of teaching what we're doing and why. It's nice to see someone with so much passion for something and is eager to teach others. She answered questions and walked us through what issues you may have at home in addition to why grocery store cheeses aren't the best. I really appreciated her hard work and helpfulness. Like others said there is a limited number of classes offered but it's a family run business and I don't expect someone to spend every Sunday teaching a four hour class when they have a family and a farm to take care of. I highly recommend the class if you're into cooking or even the science behind it. read more

**Update 11/2/14** I see in her comments the owner claims she offered the Intermediate class 4 times since she cancelled the one I was scheduled for. However, I emailed her numerous times over the course of a year after she cancelled the one I was in to see when it would be rescheduled and she always put it off another few months. If it is true that she scheduled this class again 4 times, then why did she never tell me so in any of the emails we exchanged? She stated in the Beginner's class that I did take she never publicizes the Intermediate class in order to keep people from skipping the Beginner's class and going straight to Intermediate. I do not believe she sheduled 4 more Intermediate classes since she cancelled mine, but even if she did, that really makes the situation that much worse. Why would she not have notified customers she had already charged when she scheduled another class? We should have been given priority to the seats in these classes she claims to have held. I have a year's worth of emails from her where she states she was not rescheduling the class for another few months, and then another few months, and so on. Her stories contradict themselves. **Original Review** I do not recommend Standing Stone Farm. I enjoyed the beginner's cheese making class I took there, but have not had a good experience with them since. In April 2013, I signed up for an Intermediate class to be held in August 2013. They charged me the $150 as soon as I registered in April 2013. When the date of the class drew near, the owner, Paula Butler, cancelled the class, for seemingly good reasons. She said she would reschedule it in Oct or Nov 2013, but she did not. She also did not provide refunds, promising the class would be rescheduled in Spring 2014 'when the goats would be active.' I waited patiently, still interested in the class. It is now Summer of 2014, 14 months after she charged me for the class, and I still don't have my money, nor has she rescheduled the class. I've emailed asking her for a refund, but she will not reply. I should have demanded my money back the moment she cancelled the class. I'm of the firm belief companies like this should not charge the customer until the class/service date is near or until the goods are ready to be shipped. I probably shouldn't have trusted her when she said she was going to reschedule it, but the beginner's class I took went so well and I really didn't want to lose my spot in the Intermediate class, which only allowed 8 students and she said she hasn't offered this class in several years. After the last year of stressing over this, the idea of this class is no longer fun at all. She could come to my house to teach me and I don't think I would want to do it now. I'm too upset. The lack of response is really the icing on the cake. After I began posting online reviews and warnings, I got a reply from a relative of the owner tonight. She says the payment is nonrefundable - even though the owner cancelled the class and has refused to schedule another in 14 months. At this point, I will start filing complaints with the BBB and any other regulatory agency that might cover this situation. I also have a lawyer friend that may help me. I will contact him soon. If you are interested in cheese-making supplies or cheese-making classes, find a more reputable company unless you have money to throw away should they randomly decide to take your money and not provide the service or goods you paid for. Standing Stone Farms is not reputable. read more

Poor quality products and poor customer service. I was given a cheesemaking kit as a gift and after one use the pot has over a hundred little rust spots. I understand things like this happen so I called for a return and all I received was an argumentative response. I was told probably 6 times that it wasn't rust because she uses them too and did I clean it? No sorry, she just blamed me for the rust and wouldn't offer a proper refund. On top of this, the pot is smaller than advertised. It is not the same pot, ladle, or thermometer as displayed. I suspect she is substituting very cheap products as replacements. The other reason for the 1 star is that her products are overpriced. She packages a cheese making kit and puts a very large premium on the product. I would recommend going elsewhere. read more

I highly recommend Standing Stone Farm. The owner, Paula, made my husband's birthday special by expediting the shipping on his cheese making kit. I was so blown away by this excellent customer service! You rarely find such considerate response these days. Thank you so much, Ms. Paula!!! read more

I went to a "full day" class and it was GREAT! I was nervous driving up because it's a house, but when you walk in its really nice and its all set up for the group. I was worried it would feel"thrown together", since its in a woman's kitchen, but it didn't. Paula is really informative and the baby goats are probably the sweetest things I've ever seen! Its BYOB, which I didn't know but I know for next time! The lunch was great,its not a sit down style or brown bag its like a tasting of all different cheeses but was surprisingly filling. My only problem was the parking, theres not a lot of room. But other than the parking it was really nice! I bought a kit and was able to make cheese the very next day! read more

We purchased a cheese making kit from Standing Stone via Living Social, when the package never arrived, we had a frustrating experience with the post office trying to figure out where it went and how to get it back. By then, over a couple of months had passed. We emailed Standing Stone Farm and they sent us a new kit, without charge. Really appreciate the extra service and the quick, kind responses. read more

Awesome cheese making kit! I bought their kit on Groupon/Living Social (I don't remember which) about 6 months ago, and finally got around to using it a couple weeks ago. Paula's instructions are crystal clear (if you can't read, like some of the other reviewers apparently, then I guess it could be kind of hard), and though I was a bit freaked out at points because I didn't know whether I was doing it right, all the cheese I've made so far has turned out awesome! Thanks so much for an amazing introduction into cheese making! read more

Their book tells you that most (if not all) milk in stores is ultra pasteurized and therefore not suitable for making cheese. It would have been nice to see that ahead of time. read more

I am so glad we were not swayed by the negative reviews. Our experience was phenomenal, Paula is a font of information & her presentation is interesting and fun. My husband & I engaged in her 2-hr class & got more than what we paid for. We purchased the kit including the pot & utensils & they are good quality. The difference in store-bought cheese & homemade is incomparable. Gourmet, relish, and Paula makes it simple. We both HIGHLY recommend her class! read more

I highly discourage taking her class. She is knowledgeable about cheesemaking but cannot get her business act together.I took a class from Paula in October 2011. She initially overbooked me. If I hadn't emailed her about a confirmation, I would not have known she did not have a place for me that day. She scheduled me for a subsequent Saturday and allowed me to bring a friend at no charge. However, I and a friend booked a class for fall of 2012, sent in a check for $145 in July 2012. She cancelled the class, bumped us to a class in the spring of 2013, then was too busy to hold that class, so scheduled us for August 2013, then emailed to say she was going to be filmed for a Food Channel show and would refund our money. I asked for a refund and her email on 8/6/13 said she would have her bank issue a check the next day. Today is 9/20/13 and I and my friend have yet to see checks from Paula. She does not answer emails. Go elsewhere to learn cheesemaking. read more