Acres Wild: For a farmstay in Coonoor

Filmmaker Mansoor Khan’s farmstay, Acres Wild, in Coonoor has carved a niche for itself with its warm hospitality and authentic experience (it’s not a resort but a genuine homestay). It’s now carving a wedge for itself in the culinary travel roundel as well. Given the popularity of their artisanal soft and hard cheeses, made right on the farm, they took the next logical step and decided to offer cheesemaking courses. The compact two-day courses suit busy city folks just right but those with more time can add on as many days as they like. A soft flavoured cheese (like halloumi or feta) is taught on day one and a hard cheese (Gouda, Colby, Cheddar, etc) on the second. All necessary equipment is provided, along with a forty-page course manual, cheese cultures, microbial coagulant (like rennet but vegetarian) and five litres of milk per cheese. At the end of the course, the cheese you’ve made is yours to take away (although it’ll be a month before you can dig into the hard cheese). The course is only open to guests of the farmstay. We recommend staying in the standalone Colby Cottage. Contact 9443232621 (9am-2pm; 4-9 pm), acres-wild.com