Humanity has overseen some truly miraculous inventions, not least among them is cheese. I’m not being facetious! It completely boggles my mind that about 1,000 years ago some intrepid (or possibly just bored) Italians thought, “I wonder if I can do more with this cow’s milk?” and then somehow came up with the process of coagulation, adding rennet and a whey starter, breaking the curd down into tiny granules with a special instrument, torching them, and then presto: two wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano ready to be wrapped in linen and placed in moulds! Not one of those phases seems like a logical, natural next step to me. But I guess that’s why I operate on the consumption end of formaggio, as opposed to production. Still, I’m not about to drop $700 on a 40-lb half-wheel of authentic Parmigiano to be shipped to me in the States, which is what one California TikToker just did. And to anyone who asks why she made this exorbitant purchase, Ms. Elise Osafo has an unassailable counter-question: “Why not?”
Sometimes, you must ask yourself, “Why not?” when making decisions. Elise Osafo asked herself this when she bought a 40-lb. half-wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano from Italy for $700. It took only four days for the cheese to travel from Italy to her home in California.
Osafo found inspiration from another creator on TikTok who bought a cheese wheel to recreate the experience of being served pasta in a cheese wheel in Italy. Osafo researched and then decided she would buy the wheel herself, asking, ‘Why not?’
“I have a list on my phone of so many random things I want to do. I thought the first thing I’m going to do is get this cheese,” Osafo tells PEOPLE exclusively. “Because why wouldn’t I want to have that cheese in my home? That’s how it came to be in my possession.”
Osafo has already used her cheese wheel twice: once to make an alfredo pasta; the other to host a pasta party with her friends. They made a lot of fresh pasta and sauces and then lit the cheese wheel on fire to enjoy it like one would tableside at an Italian restaurant. She’s earned more than 700,000 views on a Tiktok about the experience.
“With the cheese wheel, specifically, it’s been a lot of fun bringing my friends around to experience this together,” Osafo shares. “It’s just a fun way of being a part of my community and getting to share and enjoy together.”
Osafo has until June 8 to use up all the cheese before it goes bad. Until then, she plans on making different pastas and continuing to share with her friends.
Her cheese wheel purchase is the first part in her series about ‘100 Why Nots,’ in which she documents 100 things she does after asking herself, “Why not?”
“It’s based on the mindset that I have that I feel like life is meant to be fun and exciting, and I think we are meant to do the fun, little weird things that we might find interesting,” Osafo shares.
“Because why wouldn’t you want to experience that joy? Or accomplish that goal? Or, you know, whatever it has to be. It could be a huge thing or simple little things where it’s like, why not?”
“I got a tattoo in Amsterdam two years ago, and it says, ‘Why Not?’ That phrase has guided all my choices in my adult life, like deciding to become a content creator, deciding to go to law school, deciding to pursue my different interests and the different things that I’ve done — it’s all been this ‘Why not?’ mindset,” Ofaso recalls.
“I have a list on my phone of so many random things I want to do. I thought the first thing I’m going to do is get this cheese… Because why wouldn’t I want to have that cheese in my home?” I mean, as I said before, her logic is objectively unimpeachable here. And yet… I have questions, like: has she already gone to law school, or is that still on the random to-do list? I’m just imagining her in class or mock trial: “Because, your honor, why not?” Or: “But your honor, my client was simply following the mantra of his tattoo!” Of course the $700 question is, what’s funding all this?! Because if someone asked me, “why not spend hundreds of dollars on a hunk of cheese bigger than my dog,” I would have many answers at the ready. Little things, like rent, or 12,000 meals for the price of that one cheese wheel. On the other hand, I’m 92.7% certain I’m not having as much fun as Elise is, so I give her props for her cheerful approach to life. I’ve even had my own “why nots” from time to time, most recently and persistently, “why not quit my day job?” If I ever take the plunge, we’ll know the 40-lb cheese that finally tipped the scale.
Woman Buys $700, 40-lb. Cheese Wheel Direct from Italy — but the Reason Behind the Purchase Is Much Bigger (Exclusive) https://t.co/EA4ieXwCpx
— People (@people) March 16, 2025
@eltheegg I bought a half wheel of cheese. 100 Why Nots Ep. 1 #whynot #foodie #parmigianoreggiano ib: @Alessandra ♬ In the Mood – Glenn Miller
@eltheegg This is my cheese. #cheesewheel #cookwithme #foodie ♬ Vintage Jazz Bar – Jazz Music Cafe