Essex &
Queseria 1605
Internship
La Mancha, Spain
The internship program for cheese professionals to learn about Manchego cheese in its homeland.
Manchego is the cheese of Spain. It’s part of the country’s history and its agricultural identity. Manchego is critical to every good Spanish cheese counter and there’s a substantial wedge housed in the larder of almost every Spaniard’s home. But there are great differences among Manchegos.
This internship starts at Finca Sierra La Solana in La Mancha, the source of Essex Manchego 1605. It is one of the few farms that raise and milk their own animals to produce raw milk, unwaxed wheels of classic Manchego. The intern will work outdoors with Juan and his team of shepherds to take care of the animals including feeding and milking. They will experience cheese making and affinage alongside Maria José and her small team in the creamery. They will assist in receiving orders and packing shipments for both domestic and international clients. After a week, the intern will spend a few days working directly with José-Luis Martin, master affineur and selector, in Madrid. They will work shifts at his cheese bar “Qava” and visit his caves. They will visit shops in Madrid to understand the salesmanship market.
This is an unpaid educational internship, though accommodations and travel within Spain are included.
Cheese mongers who are customers of Essex St. Cheese and sell Manchego 1605 cheese are welcome to apply.
2024 applications for 2025 internships are closed. The application may change a bit in some requirements, but it’s largely the same year after year.
Questions? Email Rachel Juhl racheljuhl@essexcheese.com
2024 interns Austin Banach and Joe Karasch making a batch of Manchego. Austin was interviewed after the internship by Culture.
“The Essex Manchego 1605 internship far exceeded my expectations. The itinerary from judging at Gourmet Quesos in Madrid, working at Jose Luis Martin’s ‘Qava’, making Manchego in the creamery at Finca Sierra de Solana and walking in the fields with the shepherds really gave me a once in a lifetime opportunity to see, hear, smell, taste, and breathe the Spanish terrior and culture. Spain, its people, its food, and culture lives in a special spot in my heart forever. Now whenever I crack open a wheel of Manchego 1605, it takes me right back to all the sensations of this amazing trip”
“The Spain internship was an incredible experience that helps contextualize what it is to work in the cheese industry. From start to finish, we were able to see the process of cheese from the fields, to the milking, to the make, to the aging, to the selection, to the shops, to competition! I highly recommend that anyone who is on the fence put in an application because this WILL change your life.”
Alex Brown of Gourmet Imports and Matthew Rose of Fairfield Cheese, 2023 interns. Matthew wrote about his experience on the Fairfield Cheese Co blog.
“I’ve visited countless production facilities in my years working as an importer/distributor in both the States and Europe – this trip was so different and SO DEEP AND MEANINGFUL TO ME! Witnessing the entirety of production, hanging with the shepherds in the barn and in the field, working side by side with the cheesemakers filled my cup to the brim and then cast it in precious metals; drips and all. The challenges are real – both physical and mental, but the rewards are everlasting. This is a priceless commitment of time for anyone in our community and I can’t encourage applying enough. ”
“I was welcomed as a distant colleague and was generously imparted with an intimate vision of what Manchego is and what it means to Spain. I have been selling Manchego for years, but now I can say that we have truly been acquainted.”