Will’s cheese tour takes him across the United States to look at artisanal cheese in regions not normally associated with specialist cheese. Will learns first hand about the challenges of making farmstead washed-rind cheese in Virginia before meeting up with his old friend Ari at Zingerman’s Creamery in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Then it’s a drive to Indiana to meet American goats cheese pioneer Judy Schad of Capriole dairy where he is encouraged to find a new way to enjoy Bourbon. After a brief stop at Saxelby Cheesemongers, a stall at New York City’s public market on the Lower East Side, Will travels to Oregon to discover the fascinating story behind Rogue River Blue, one of the oldest raw milk blue cheeses in the US.

If the name “Brie” conjures up images of a mild creamy flat cheese covered with a pure white mould, chances are you have never experienced authentic Brie from Brie. Will visits the Ile de France region to learn more about the benchmarks of the style, Brie de Meaux and Brie de Melun, before visiting Brie’s close cousin, Chaource, in the Champagne region. He then travels to the underground caves of Herves Mons to find out how this respected Affineur selects and matures cheeses to its optimum before calling on Pascal Beillevaire to get a few tips from the largest specialist cheese retailer in France.

The Danish dairy industry is widely recognized as one of the most efficient in Europe; it produces more blue cheese than any country in the world. Will travels to the pretty island of Bornholm to see how Danablu is made, before heading to Copenhagen to find out more about how the Nordic food revolution is now encouraging large producers to look at more interesting cheese varieties. After visiting several small dairies Will discovers that nothing has changed when it comes to the Danes' love of smoked cheese.

Germany has a long history of cheese-making dating back to pre-Roman
times. It’s also the largest producer of cheese in Europe. After travelling to
the Alps to look at a seasonal mountain cheese called Bergkase, Will visits
a small biodynamic farm to discover how Germany’s most popular fresh
cheese, Quark, is made. After venturing north to taste some Tilsiter, Will
calls on a cheese-maker monk who sings as he makes ewe’s cheese from
the milk of his beloved flock.

Will travels to the spectacular fjords of Norway to look at rare skimmed
milk cheeses dating back to Viking times. After learning about a traditional
fresh cow’s milk cheese called Pulltost he visits a family making a cheese
called Gammelost, which lives up to its notorious reputation for smelling
like old socks. The episode ends in the beautiful ‘valley of the goats’, where
Will samples Ghetost, an ancient sweet brown caramel cheese remarkably
similar to fudge.

No Italian region boasts as many traditional cheeses as Piedmont. Will investigates
the many different types of Toma cheese made in the Alps before
travelling to the Langhe Hills and meeting the producers of two endangered
cheeses protected by the Slow Food movement. Finally, after tasting
truffle-infused cheese in the underground cellars of Beppino Occelli, Will
can’t resist the invitation to go on a white truffle hunt.

Scotland is not renowned for good cheese, but in the rugged rolling highland
country, Will unearths an ancient sour cream ‘chieftains’ cheese called
Caboc. After enjoying Strathdowne blue with oatcakes, Will finds out how
the cheese also pairs with single malt whisky. Then it’s off to the Isle of
Mull where an enterprising family, supplements the feed for their cows
with whisky mash during the cold winter months.

Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean and has a long history of
traditional cheese-making influenced by the Greeks, Romans, Arabs and
Normans - and of course the Italians. Will looks at the many flavors of Sicilian
Pecorino, and visits one of the last farmhouse dairies making a saffronflavored
cheese from ewe’s milk, before finding himself in a Dickensian
cheese-maturing room that is several centuries behind the times.

Will invites his friend Tetsuya Wakuda to accompany him on a tour of Tasmania
and to demonstrate a few of his unusual recipes with local dairy
produce. New artisan cheese makers who have proudly put the country
back on the cheese map. This special episode features: Bruny Island cheese
and wood-fired oysters; artisan cider produced from heritage apples;
handmade cultured butter from Elgaar Farm; John Bignell’s blue cheese
and leatherwood honey; King Island cream and lobster; Heidi Raclette and
even a Wasabi flavored cheese.

Many people think the only traditional cheese made in Wales is mild young
crumbly Caerphilly, but the regional varieties of this cheese are so diverse,
they are benchmarks in their own right. Will travels to Caws dairy to meet
a family responsible for re-creating farmhouse Caerphilly before catching
up with an old friend at Gorwydd farm who is now making this remarkable
cheese from raw cow’s milk, and two cheese makers responsible for
putting Wales back on the specialist cheese map of Britain. Will learns a
traditional recipe for Glamorgan Sausage and discovers interesting pairings
of local cheeses and whisky.

Squeaky, salty haloumi is one of the world’s best-loved grilled cheeses. However, most of it is now mass produced using cows milk. Will travels to the island of Cyprus to see how traditional Haloumi is still made from a mixture of goat’s and ewe’s milk. After discovering a fresh, mild whey cheese called Anari, he then visits one of the last farm producers still making Haloumi the old fashioned way from raw milk. Finally, Will checks out some unusual ways to cook this delicious cheese in his home town of Melbourne.

Do the Japanese like cheese? Will travels to Japan with celebrity chef Tetsuya Wakuda to find the answer to that burning question. Starting with a visit to Tokyo’s leading cheese shop, Fermier, he looks at the extraordinary range available at a well known Toyko department store before heading off to Shimizu Farm at Nagano to see how a traditional mountain cheese is made. Next stop is Yoshida Farm where Will and Tetsuya try their hand at cheese-making before throwing a party where Tetsuya and friends demonstrate new ways to cook with cheese, Japanese style. Finally, Will visits an award-winning farmhouse dairy on the island of Hokkaido where washed rind cheese is carefully matured in underground cellars.

Will journeys to Italy’s picturesque Campania region to look at stretched curd cheeses and finds it hard to resist the lingering flavor and sensual texture of buffalo cheese made from raw milk. After learning about Italy’s oldest ewe’s milk cheese, which is matured in a terracotta jar, Will gets a lesson from a countess in how to make the perfect wood-fired pizza. He then heads to the coast to look at Caciocavallo, a traditional stretched curd cheese made with cow’s milk, before visiting the underground maturation rooms of Casa Madaio.

Until recently, Portugal’s traditional ewe’s milk cheeses were rarely found outside the country. Will travels to the rugged mountains of the north to find out more about the king of Portuguese cheese, Serra da Estrela. Dating back to pre-Roman times, this ancient cheese is still made from ewe’s milk and curdled with the juice of cardoon thistles. After travelling south to look at some of its close cousins, Will then travels to the ruggedly beautiful island of Sao Jorge in the Azores to learn about the benchmark cheeses of “little Switzerland.”

Will visits influential cheese retailer Neal’s Yard Dairy in London, where cheese champion Randolph Hodgson explains how English traditional farmhouse country cheese was saved from extinction. Then it’s off to the Midlands to look at some of the survivors. Will then drops in on one of the last producers of farmhouse Cheshire, before heading to Wensleydale, made famous by Wallace and Gromit. Finally, he looks at a controversial raw milk blue cheese called Stichelton and why its success may change the way Stilton is made.

Despite being close neighbors, these two large islands in the Mediterranean have distinctly different cheese traditions. While sampling Corsica’s renowned Brocciu, a soft ewe’s milk cheese, Will is introduced to a traditional version ripened with maggots. After a short ferry ride and a drive into the beautiful mountains of Sardinia, he meets a rock star shepherd and discovers an ancient curd cheese matured in a goat’s stomach, before exploring authentic Pecorino Fiore Sardo, an exceptional cheese hand-made by shepherds then smoked over an open fire.

This upper Midwest state is famous for its ‘cheese heads’ and proudly declares itself America’s Dairyland because it produces more cheese than any other state in the USA. Since the 1950s, most of the original traditional cheese types have been replaced by bland and predictable mass-produced Swiss and Cheddar. Will visits several exciting new farmstead cheese producers, including Uplands Cheese Company, before meeting Willi Lehner at Bleu Mont Dairy to see how he ripens cheese in an underground cave. Finally, Will heads for the hills to look at Hidden Springs Creamery, where a new organic ewe’s milk cheese is being made with the help of local Amish farmers.