Chef Patrick Feury unwrapped the disks of Yellow Springs Farm goat cheese and wiped them down with the gentle touch usually reserved for newborns and puppies. It's all part of his process of aging the product himself, something he learned at cheese school in Vermont last year. When he picks up the goods from the Chester County makers, they are two weeks young. He matures them for two to three more weeks. "Part of serving them is making sure that the characteristics are at their best," says the chef of Nectar, in Berwyn.

When folks ask Al Renzi of Yellow Springs Farm what it takes to become an artisanal cheesemaker, he often responds with a question: "I ask people if they enjoy washing dishes," he says, "because cheesemakers do a lot of that." Making excellent cheese — and making it safely — requires a meticulousness that many people would find daunting. There are other challenges as well..."