This story is part of culture’s 2025 Hot List. Click here to learn more about the selection process and to see the entire list of recipients.

Vanessa Tilaka Kalb, ACS CCP
Owner of Agnes Restaurant & Cheesery
Pasadena, California
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Vanessa Tilaka Kalb moved to San Francisco in 2014 to continue her work as a chef. In 2015, she was awarded an educational grant to attend the Cheese School of San Francisco, where she discovered her passion for cheese. After working with the school and opening Fisher’s Cheese + Wine, she returned to Los Angeles. In 2021, she and her husband opened Agnes Restaurant & Cheesery in Pasadena, where Kalb remains deeply involved in the cheese community. In 2023, she became an American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professional and serves on the ACS Nominating Committee.
Who is your biggest inspiration in the cheese world?
Kiri Fisher. I met Kiri in 2015 while taking classes at the Cheese School of San Francisco. She gave me opportunities and opened doors in the cheese world I never knew existed.
What was your big “aha” moment?
After taking a few classes at the Cheese School, I spent weekends driving up and down back roads in the Bay Area and tasting cheese at creameries. Learning how everything affects quality, from the grass to the seasons to the animals’ happiness and the people making the cheese, was pivotal for me.
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve experienced or overcome in this industry?
Removing the intimidation of approaching the cheese counter. My mission is to deepen the conversations between patrons and mongers to help them understand and appreciate the value of cheese.
What’s Next?
I aim to expand the Cheesery globally, join boards and committees to make a difference in the future of cheese, and become an ACS Certified Cheese Sensory Evaluator.
Pair a song with cheese: Listen to the entire cheese pairing playlist on Spotify!
Blakesville Creamery Linedeline + “Glory Box” by Portishead
What’s the cheese you’re raving to your friends about right now?
Anyone who will listen (and sample) is hearing about Woodlawn Creamery Pawlet. I’m thrilled this cheese has made a comeback, and I’m excited to share it with my friends.
If you weren’t in the cheese industry, what would your career be?
I watch a lot of Law & Order, so I think I’d make a really good detective … just kidding! Having spent as much time in restaurants as I have in cheese, I really enjoy the service and hospitality industry. A part of me misses the structure of hotels and the ability to travel, so I think I’d work in hotels or on a cruise ship.