CLEVELAND — A Cleveland woman has amassed a gigantic following on her TikTok page. The page is called "Cheezy Talk with Madelyn," and it is dedicated to, you guessed it, cheese.
Madelyn Varela showcases how she made the food her career, working as a "cheesemonger" for a local grocery store. Varela runs their cheese department, handling purchasing, processing, and selling specialty cheeses.
"I think cheese is such a great way to connect with one another," said Varela.
Most of her videos showcase her work and unique expertise as a "cheesemonger." Varela explains how she broke into the niche industry.
"A lot of people don't realize that there is a person that just sells cheese for a living, and so its been a really fun way to connect the world to this unique job but also the industry as a whole," said Varela.
Her high-end expertise is made digestible (literally!) for the masses. Her content might inspire younger folks to consider a more unconventional career focusing on hands-on experience over formal education.
"Some of these platforms are just opening up new possibilities for young people to sort of say, 'hey, that could be me,'" said Michael Goldberg, Professor at Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.
Her other popular videos include her "unhinged pairings," where she utilizes her expertise to pair fast food, condiments, candy, chips, and more with specialty cheese.
"Cheese has this reputation of being kind of snooty and stuffy, but in fact it's really not," said Varela.
Close to 175K follow along as she cuts, processes, and explains more about a kind of food many of us have loved on noodles and sandwiches since childhood, paired with a career not many of us even knew about.
"They think it's the best job ever, and it is. I get to eat cheese basically everyday," said Varela.
