{"id":49306,"date":"2025-05-20T17:20:25","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T21:20:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/?p=49306"},"modified":"2025-05-20T17:24:47","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T21:24:47","slug":"cheesemonger-sings-cheese-pairing-opera-songs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/cheesemonger-sings-cheese-pairing-opera-songs\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Vero Kherian, the Woman Pairing Cheese with Opera"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Veronique Kherian, also known as Miss Cheesemonger Sings<\/a>, is a mezzo-soprano opera singer who performs cheese pairing recitals in San Francisco. After attending law school, Kherian worked as a cheesemonger, photographer<\/a>, and artisan cheese blogger. Her recitals feature a variety of music genres, from Cabaret to classical opera, paired with curated cheeses from Cheese Plus<\/a>. We spoke with Kherian about the inspiration behind this unique concept and why she  combined her passion for music with her love of cheese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Culture Media: What was the moment in your career that made you think to combine music and cheese and how did Miss Cheesemonger Sings begin?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Veronique Kherian:<\/strong> They\u2019re all really connected, actually. Miss Cheesemonger began in 2009. I had just graduated from law school and was looking for my next thing and I came across this Craigslist posting for a cheesemonger job. I can\u2019t say the decision to become a cheesemonger was very calculated at all. It was really on a whim, by chance. And, going through the process of learning to become a cheesemonger, I started thinking, I need to document this. It blossomed into this blog, which got me started on my photography journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since I was a kid, I\u2019ve always been singing in some capacity, but during law school I really needed something to take my mind off studying so I started taking classical singing lessons and I\u2019ve stuck with it ever since. I became immersed in the opera world and was doing a lot of shows, and my friends suggested I combine cheese and music. I realized that this was a unique perspective, and it\u2019s allowed me to explore storytelling and history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Veronique Kherian performing her opera and cheese pairing recital.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

CM: Your blog, Miss Cheesemonger, has been around for well over a decade! Where did your passion for cheese first begin?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

VK:<\/strong> I\u2019m Vietnamese-American and at least half of my family is actually lactose intolerant. Somehow I was spared, and as a child I would eat so much cheese. I would basically only eat cheese sandwiches, and macaroni and cheese was the first thing I learned to make. This love of cheese has been hardwired in me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CM: There are so many components to your recitals, from the songs you choose to the cheese pairings. What goes into the preparation for a recital and what is your curation process for pairing cheeses with the music?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

VK: <\/strong>I generally will choose the music first and most of the time it\u2019s just going to be the music that I have come across and really liked. They can be English songs, or even songs in French, Italian, or German. I experiment with time periods a lot too, from Baroque music to contemporary music that\u2019s been written in the past several years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After I choose the music, I\u2019ll go to Ray at Cheese Plus and we\u2019ll go over the cheeses that he has available. There\u2019s always something in the music that ties to the history or culture behind the cheese. Sometimes, I\u2019m even able to connect the cheesemaker to the composer or character in the piece. It\u2019s very freeing and I think that\u2019s why audiences really like it. We always find a way to tell a story.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
A selection of cheese viewers taste alongside Kherian’s opera performance.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

CM: What about your recitals has been most rewarding?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

VK: <\/strong>I love how I\u2019m able to build community and engage the audience\u2019s bodies and minds together in this one moment. It\u2019s an all-encompassing, full-body experience. And, I love how accessible the recitals are. You don\u2019t have to know anything about classical singing or opera, and you don\u2019t have to know anything about cheese. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love how I\u2019m able to give people an experience with cheese and music in ways they never expected. My recitals are like little doorways into some really profound and beautiful worlds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CM: You\u2019ve built such a unique niche. Do you have any advice for anyone looking to combine seemingly unrelated passions?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

VK: <\/strong>There\u2019s so much creativity in the world and within each of us. I\u2019d say to give yourself the freedom to get a little bored and let your mind wander, and you\u2019ll find a way to combine your passions or bring one of your passions to life. Give your creativity the conditions to flourish and it will happen. Confidence is everything and authenticity is key.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Veronique Kherian, also known as Miss Cheesemonger Sings, is a mezzo-soprano opera singer who performs cheese pairing recitals in San Francisco. After attending law school, Kherian worked as a cheesemonger, photographer, and artisan cheese blogger. Her recitals feature a variety of music genres, from Cabaret to classical opera, paired with curated cheeses from Cheese Plus. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":126,"featured_media":49313,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"coauthors":[34701],"class_list":["post-49306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMeet Vero Kherian, the Woman Pairing Cheese with Opera - culture: the word on cheese<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/cheesemonger-sings-cheese-pairing-opera-songs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Meet Vero Kherian, the Woman Pairing Cheese with Opera\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Veronique Kherian, also known as Miss Cheesemonger Sings, is a mezzo-soprano opera singer who performs cheese pairing recitals in San Francisco. After attending law school, Kherian worked as a cheesemonger, photographer, and artisan cheese blogger. Her recitals feature a variety of music genres, from Cabaret to classical opera, paired with curated cheeses from Cheese Plus. […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/cheesemonger-sings-cheese-pairing-opera-songs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"culture: the word on cheese\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-20T21:20:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-20T21:24:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Miss_Cheesemonger_Sings.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1421\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1078\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Claire Fan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Claire Fan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/cheesemonger-sings-cheese-pairing-opera-songs\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/cheesemonger-sings-cheese-pairing-opera-songs\/\",\"name\":\"Meet Vero Kherian, the Woman Pairing Cheese with Opera - culture: the word on cheese\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/cheesemonger-sings-cheese-pairing-opera-songs\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/cheesemonger-sings-cheese-pairing-opera-songs\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Miss_Cheesemonger_Sings.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-20T21:20:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-20T21:24:47+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#\/schema\/person\/d0e136b680d30673b11a8aa43db01d9c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/cheesemonger-sings-cheese-pairing-opera-songs\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/cheesemonger-sings-cheese-pairing-opera-songs\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/cheesemonger-sings-cheese-pairing-opera-songs\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Miss_Cheesemonger_Sings.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Miss_Cheesemonger_Sings.jpg\",\"width\":1421,\"height\":1078},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/cheesemonger-sings-cheese-pairing-opera-songs\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Blog\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/category\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Meet Vero Kherian, the Woman Pairing Cheese with Opera\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/\",\"name\":\"culture: the word on cheese\",\"description\":\"Culture, America's magazine for cheese lovers, delivers stories about cheeses, cheesemakers, travel to gorgeous cheese regions, and practical tips on buying, presenting, and cooking with cheese.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#\/schema\/person\/d0e136b680d30673b11a8aa43db01d9c\",\"name\":\"Claire Fan\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/31d1253e1bc570d59952bf273e76e4f8\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1641587663471-150x150.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1641587663471-150x150.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Claire Fan\"},\"description\":\"Claire Fan is an editorial intern for Culture Magazine and is based in Providence, Rhode Island, where she is a senior at Brown University. Claire has dabbled in recipe testing, food styling, and writing and her work can be found on her blog saltandsesame.com. She can often be found knitting, reading fiction, or eating sandwiches.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/clairefan.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/author\/claire-fan\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Meet Vero Kherian, the Woman Pairing Cheese with Opera - culture: the word on cheese","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/cheesemonger-sings-cheese-pairing-opera-songs\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Meet Vero Kherian, the Woman Pairing Cheese with Opera","og_description":"Veronique Kherian, also known as Miss Cheesemonger Sings, is a mezzo-soprano opera singer who performs cheese pairing recitals in San Francisco. After attending law school, Kherian worked as a cheesemonger, photographer, and artisan cheese blogger. Her recitals feature a variety of music genres, from Cabaret to classical opera, paired with curated cheeses from Cheese Plus. […]","og_url":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/cheesemonger-sings-cheese-pairing-opera-songs\/","og_site_name":"culture: the word on cheese","article_published_time":"2025-05-20T21:20:25+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-05-20T21:24:47+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1421,"height":1078,"url":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Miss_Cheesemonger_Sings.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Claire Fan","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Claire Fan","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/cheesemonger-sings-cheese-pairing-opera-songs\/","url":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/cheesemonger-sings-cheese-pairing-opera-songs\/","name":"Meet Vero Kherian, the Woman Pairing Cheese with Opera - culture: the word on cheese","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/cheesemonger-sings-cheese-pairing-opera-songs\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/cheesemonger-sings-cheese-pairing-opera-songs\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Miss_Cheesemonger_Sings.jpg","datePublished":"2025-05-20T21:20:25+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-20T21:24:47+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#\/schema\/person\/d0e136b680d30673b11a8aa43db01d9c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/cheesemonger-sings-cheese-pairing-opera-songs\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/cheesemonger-sings-cheese-pairing-opera-songs\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/cheesemonger-sings-cheese-pairing-opera-songs\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Miss_Cheesemonger_Sings.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Miss_Cheesemonger_Sings.jpg","width":1421,"height":1078},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/cheesemonger-sings-cheese-pairing-opera-songs\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/category\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Meet Vero Kherian, the Woman Pairing Cheese with Opera"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#website","url":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/","name":"culture: the word on cheese","description":"Culture, America's magazine for cheese lovers, delivers stories about cheeses, cheesemakers, travel to gorgeous cheese regions, and practical tips on buying, presenting, and cooking with cheese.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#\/schema\/person\/d0e136b680d30673b11a8aa43db01d9c","name":"Claire Fan","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/31d1253e1bc570d59952bf273e76e4f8","url":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1641587663471-150x150.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1641587663471-150x150.jpg","caption":"Claire Fan"},"description":"Claire Fan is an editorial intern for Culture Magazine and is based in Providence, Rhode Island, where she is a senior at Brown University. Claire has dabbled in recipe testing, food styling, and writing and her work can be found on her blog saltandsesame.com. She can often be found knitting, reading fiction, or eating sandwiches.","sameAs":["http:\/\/clairefan.com"],"url":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/author\/claire-fan\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/126"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49306"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49306\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49306"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=49306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}