About once a week, Senior Camille Hardie creates a Tik Tok video where she rates different kinds of cheese. Camille was inspired by @floridamomof3, also known as Costco Mamma, who normally does Costco reviews with her children. Costco Mamma had posted a cheese review, and given Camille’s love for cheese, she was inspired to film one for fun. She released her first cheese rating video on her account, @camillehardiee, on January 23, 2021. In every one of her videos, Camille introduces and describes the type of cheese she is rating. She then tastes it, gives her review of it, and rates it out of ten stars, all with jazz music playing in the background.

Tik Tok is all the rave nowadays. People of all ages use the social media app on a daily basis. They can promote their small businesses, post dancing videos, give shopping hauls, film vlogs, or watch what other creators make in 15-60 second videos. Camille likes how Tik Tok is a judgment free zone, which is why she chose it as the platform for her cheese ratings. She is mostly followed by friends and other Prep students, but her account is slowly growing, as she has also obtained some followers beyond her friends and peers.

Camille’s family belongs to a local cheese and wine club, so they have three to four unique cheeses to taste test every month. While she receives cheese from the cheese club, Camille’s go to stores are Fred Meyer, Trader Joes, and Whole Foods. She would like everyone to “PLEASE go get the cheese from Trader Joes called: Creamy Toscano soaked in Syrah!!”. She highly recommends trying the Toscano, or just going to the store and finding something interesting to try because “it’s fun to expand your pallet and try something new!”.

While there have been cheeses from the club that were too sweet for Camille, like Black Sheep Fresh, she knows she can always rely on a good sharp white cheddar cheese. “It is so versatile and the flavor is always great, no matter what brand you get it from”. In her opinion, cheese is even more delicious when paired with pears or rosemary crackers. She recommends that if a person is in charge of appetizers or a charcuterie board, then they should include “a hard cheese like a cheddar, a soft cheese like brie, and a blue cheese”.

Camille’s most popular video was from when she reviewed the cheese, Fromager d’Affinois, in the snow! She normally films on her own, with the exception of her dog, Stella, who co-starred in one of her videos, likely because there was food involved. In the future, Camille hopes to feature more guests in her videos and release cheese ratings even after she graduates from high school.