Two Professors Chose Life in Himachal Over Japan & Built a Homestay That Teaches Cheesemaking

What’s the most experimental thing you’ve done on vacation? 

How about learning the art of cheesemaking and then perfecting your very own batch?  

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At Himalayan Orchard, a homestay hugged by deodar and pine forests in the Rukhla village of Himachal Pradesh, a two-day workshop offers you a 101 in caseiculture (craft of making cheese), including lessons on fermentation, salting, brining, and creating starter cultures. 

Your tutor will be François Laederich from France, who picked up artisanal cheesemaking in Aurillac, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France, before moving to India and starting his brand Amiksa. 

The workshop is practical, hands-on, and allows you a momentary escape to the French countryside with every bite of cheese you take. 

It’s one of the draws of this storied homestay nestled amid apple orchards. Devanshe Chauhan Lidgley (57) recalls spending most of her boarding school winter vacations here. Flanked by snow-capped mountains of Himachal, the place looked just like a postcard, as it still does. 

“I remember when the electricity would go out for days at a time, we’d sit in front of the fire and play board games.” 

And you’re now called to experience this.  

Where the apple orchards thrive 

These days, dark makes an early stop at Himayalan Orchard under the guise of winter. But in the daylight hours, don’t forget to feast your eyes on views of the forest, and even hike through them. Reds, peaches, greens, and browns dance across the landscape in the form of the apple and pear orchards. Interestingly, these were also a conversation starter between Devanshe and Michael Lidgley (65) while they were lecturing in Japan. 

“I remember it was an email exchange about apples,” Devanshe smiles. “Michael did not know about my background at the time, that I’d inherited my ancestral property back in India, which had apple orchards.” 

But after that initial conversation, Devanshe told him about her growing-up years, how she’d grow her own food in the back garden as a child, and Michael, in turn, would recount to her his dreams of having always wanted to be a farmer. 

“We realised we were both inclined towards nature,” Devanshe reasons, adding that eventually, in 2016, came the inflection point, as they decided to move back to India and start Himalayan Orchard as a homestay, on the piece of land that Devanshe had inherited.   

And now, you’re called to enjoy the fruits (literally) of their labour of love. 

Whether you’re someone who likes toiling on a farm, getting the lay of the land, rambling through miles of forest, or understanding the nuances of working in an orchard, the homestay has something to offer. 

The place can accommodate up to 12 guests at a time; interestingly, when the couple restored the 75-year-old home into a homestay, it involved revamping many of the previous areas. For instance, the old chullah-kitchen (chullah is a traditional Indian cooking stove) was converted into an ensuite, while the old hay-loft was made into bedrooms. 

A stay at Himalayan Orchard is cosy. Expect to wake up to birdsong; the property gets visits from blue whistling thrushes, minivets, Himalayan bulbuls, drongos, barbets, and parakeets, greeted by glorious views — the land is filled with apples, pears, plums, apricots, cherries, and seasonal vegetables, and feast on milk, cheese, butter, and yoghurt that is made in-house. The homestay also does small batches of jams, pickles, wines, beer, cider, and cheese.

Among the cheese varieties you can get a taste of gouda(mild, buttery, slightly sweet flavoured semi-soft Dutch cheese), feta(Greek brined white cheese made from sheep's milk or from a mixture of sheep and goat's milk with a crumbly texture), basic cheese and Himalayan blue (artisanal blue cheese made in the Himalayan region with a creamy, crumbly texture). 

‘I want to be a farmer.’

Michael grew up in Britain. He would spend a great deal of time outdoors in nature. So when his father asked him what he wanted to grow up to be, instinct replied, ‘a farmer’. 

His dad was upset. Michael did not grow up to be a farmer (not at the time anyway); he became a teacher instead, travelling to Spain, Italy, North Africa, the Middle East, and Japan on assignments. While teaching at a university in Japan, he met Devanshe. 

Michael sees their story as a work of fate. From his spot amid the orchards that span around him, he does indeed feel like a farmer.

In the years that followed their move to India, the couple doubled down on the restoration of the land and the home. Sharing about the architecture, Devanshe says, “We used traditional mud, stone, and wood for the walls.” They also focused on reviving the orchards and starting a kitchen garden through which they would be able to offer their guests farm-to-table meals. 

But she and Michael don’t think of themselves just as hosts but also as “guardians of the forest”, Devanshe says, explaining how they objected to tree cutting in the forest, created a rainwater harvesting model with a capacity of 30,000 litres, and muscled in with organic farming practices to heal the land that was stressed out with chemical pesticides that had been used for years. 

And the 1000 fruit trees are proof of their efforts. In fact, you could adopt one of the trees, too! Once you do so, you’ll receive jams, preserves made from the fruits, or even a fruit box hamper! 

Check details here. 

And all the while, you can be proud that you’re doing your bit to nurture a piece of land organically. Devanshe explains that they use five different kinds of organic mixes. “Some of the ingredients include cow urine, stones from the river — each set of stones is made up of different minerals, and so when they are fermented, and the mix is sprayed back into the soil, it nourishes the soil,” she shares. 

You can even learn the hands-on techniques of organic farming. 

That’s one among the many things to learn at the Himalayan Orchard homestay. 

Time to put on your chef's hat 

Nothing thrills François Laederich as much as having a guest try making their own cheese and watching them get excited when it comes out well. 

“I’ve noticed how guests are often curious about cheesemaking; it is an art that many do not like to share the secrets of. But to me it was very interesting. So I started a factory unit in the hills, but I couldn't take people there as we work with large quantities of milk and ingredients, and so when Devanshe, Michael, and I got talking, we decided a workshop would be a great idea. I conduct it once a month at Himalayan Orchard.” 

François adds that the variety of cheese recipes taught are easy and can be made at home. 

Another course offered is the sausage-making course taught by Michael. 

This hands-on workshop covers the fundamentals of European-style sausage making using local goat meat, farm herbs, garlic, and natural casings, with techniques easily replicated at home using minimal tools. Participants learn sausage theory, meat selection, seasoning, grinding, stuffing, linking, and smoking.

Meanwhile, the beer-making workshop includes a demonstration of traditional, small-batch beer-making, from malting to fermentation, with guided observation, discussion, and sampling of prior batches. Then is the sourdough bread-making workshop that offers an immersive introduction to traditional sourdough practices, from maintaining a live starter to shaping, fermenting, and baking.

There are also yoga retreats conducted in a repurposed shala(room) that was turned from a defunct space where apple juice and preserves were once made, into a retreat centre. “I discovered it while walking around the property one day, and then we got the local masons to rebuild it with stone and wood, and now we have yoga and meditation retreats here,” Michael explains. Then there are writers' retreats conducted here to help budding and seasoned writers get the quiet and space they need to focus. 

The land is brimming with a lot, but as dark settles, she folds back into her quiet existence, with a kind of winter magic that you’d love to experience.

Book your stay here. 

All pictures courtesy Himalayan Orchard