With a new space in Zurich’s Wollishofen neighborhood, Sherly’s Kitchen — which started about two years ago — offers cooking classes, workshops and other events. I recently attended the Swiss Cheese Master Class in this bright, welcoming classroom and professional kitchen. If you are looking for opportunities to learn more about Swiss cheese, chocolate and baking in English, Sherly’s Kitchen is a great place to start.

My Visit to Sherly’s Kitchen

When I arrived early on a Friday evening to Sherly’s Kitchen, I was warmly greeted by none other than Sherly herself. She has lived in Switzerland now for 13 years. Her passion for food and cooking led her to leave a career working in food manufacturing and product development. After which, she decided to pursue a new path as a cheese sommelier, cooking instructor and owner of Sherly’s Kitchen.

To become certified as a cheese sommelier in Switzerland, Sherly took and passed the Käse-Sommelier course at Die Weinausbildung in Nuolen, Switzerland, in the canton of Schwyz. As such, she has a real insider’s perspective on the world of Swiss cheese.

At Sherly’s Kitchen, here are some examples of classes and services that she offers:

• Swiss Classes: Cheese Master Class, Chocolate Class and Pastry Baking Class
• Asian Classes: Korean Classics, Dumpling Workshop, Bento Box Class
• Private events: Team-building workshops, birthday parties, etc.
• Kitchen rental

During her classes, Sherly teaches both the technical and cultural aspects of cooking. She loves sharing her knowledge about all that Switzerland has to offer in terms of high-quality local products, like chocolate and cheese. Those who have enrolled in her Swiss food classes include English-speakers living in the Zurich area and beyond. She also welcomes anglophones visiting Switzerland who want to discover new Swiss foods during their visit.

In addition to her classes, Sherly’s Kitchen also has a blog where you will find recipes. For instance, she has published a recipe for “No-Fail Easy Cheese Fondue Recipe.” She also has cheese shopping advice in her recent post, “Where to buy cheese in Zurich.”

Swiss Cheese Master Class

The Swiss Cheese Master Class (CHF 139) that I took at Sherly’s Kitchen lasted three hours. It took place in both the professional kitchen and the classroom/dining area. During the class, Sherly gave us a practical overview of Swiss cheese in a fun and informative way. Some of the specific topics she covered in the class included the cheese production process, wine and cheese pairing and cheese knives, among others. We also had hands-on activities. We created our own cheese plate and made individual Swiss cheese pies — Chäs-Chüechli (Swiss-German) / Käse Kuchen (German) / Ramequin au fromage (French).

For the tasting portion of the evening, we sampled the various cheeses with two Swiss white wines -These included an Amigne from the canton of Valais and assemblage from the canton of Zurich. To accompany our cheese plate, she also supplied us with bread, grapes, dried fruit, nuts and honey. I enjoyed taking the time to savor and discuss all of the different cheeses with Sherly and the others in the class.

The atmosphere of the class was very welcoming and supportive. Sherly was very open to all of us asking questions throughout the evening. She had questions for us too, like, “What ingredient is used to curdle the milk?” Also, from the 11 cheeses she served us, we had to guess which one had earned the title of world champion. I won’t tell you which one, but I’ll admit I got it wrong!

Something for Everyone

As someone who already has a decent amount of experience with cheese in Switzerland, I still greatly expanded my knowledge during the Swiss Master Cheese Class at Sherly’s Kitchen. I left this class with a better understanding of Swiss cheese, as well as a greater awareness of my personal preferences. Plus, I had a nice evening tasting and cooking with Swiss cheese, trying a few Swiss wines and meeting some lovely new people.

Sherly’s Kitchen, Seestrasse 297, 8038 Zurich, info@sherlyskitchen.com, +41 (0)78 755 6386. 

Please note: I attended the Cheese Master Class as a guest of Sherly’s Kitchen. As always, the thoughts and opinions expressed in this article are purely my own.

Updated: May 10, 2022