Join Bronwen and Francis Percival, authors of Reinventing the Wheel, for a discussion and cheese tasting as they explain their research on time-honored farming and milking practices and the microbial biodiversity of raw milk. Cheese tasting provided by Neal's Yard Dairy and Comté USA.

In just over a century, cheese has changed, perhaps more than any other fermented food. A process once entirely driven by native microbes has given way to pasteurization and inoculation with isolated strains with defined functions. In the process, cheese has become more consistent, and cheaper to produce, but at what cost? Rather than mourning this loss, this tutored tasting looks to the future, and to the ways in which microbiologists on both sides of the Atlantic are shedding light on the composition of milk and farm microbial communities.

Following the talk and tasting, there will be a Reinventing the Wheel book signing, a small reception, and beer from Brooklyn Brewery.

special thanks to Saxelby Cheesemongers

Bronwen Percival is the cheese buyer at Neal's Yard Dairy in London. She initiated the biennial Science of Artisan Cheese Conference and is cofounder of the website microbialfoods.org. In addition to serving on the editorial board of the Oxford Companion to Cheese, she recently edited an English translation of the leading French textbook on raw-milk microbiology for cheesemakers.

Francis Percival writes on food and wine for The World of Fine Wine and was named Louis Roederer International Wine Columnist of the Year in 2013 and Pio Cesare Wine and Food Writer of the Year 2015. His work has also appeared in Culture, Decanter, Saveur, and the Financial Times. Together with Bronwen, he cofounded the London Gastronomy Seminars.

Ticket Refund Policy: Full refund with 48 hours notice, 50% refund with 24 hours notice, and no refund with less than 24 hours notice.