Victoria Monét proves no side quest is too small as she graduates from culinary school while working on a new album

The singer-songwriter said it was something she always wanted to do, as becoming a chef was a “lifelong dream” of hers.

Victoria Monét is living the adage of Black women who consistently seek more, even when they have the smallest bit of free time.

While several stars were in New York for the 2026 Met Gala on Monday (May 4), the “On My Mama” singer was putting on a cap and gown, preparing to walk the stage as she graduated from culinary school. She shared the moment on Instagram with a carousel of photos in her graduation outfit, popping champagne bottles and posing with her hard-earned degree.

“Graduation Day 🎓🤍 5/4,” she began her post. “I’m officially a Culinary School Graduate after I walk the stage tonight! Imma cry 🥹😌 @iceculinary.”

She added, “I’m sooo thankful to my family, my daughter, my trainers, my culinary teachers, my community, my assistant, my driver and my whole team for indulging in this absolutely crazy ambitious idea to go to school while I create my next album!!! One of my 50 side quests lol the 4am alarms to the late night moonlit studio endings and the 11 million things in between… we got it all done!!”

“It’s “Yes Chef” now when u see me.”

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Longtime fans have been following Monét on this journey. Back in 2025, she launched the @itschefmonet Instagram account, complete with posts of her favorite meals, a little mother-daughter time with her baby girl, Hazel and a countdown to her graduation.

“It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do,” she said in the introductory video posted last November. “It’s been a lifelong dream of mine. I’ve been super passionate about recipes you can pass down from generation to generation and how food makes people feel.”

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The growth moments for Monét have occurred not only professionally, through the pursuit of her degree, but also personally. In 2024, she wrote a children’s book titled “Everywhere You Are,” and recently, she advocated for women who suffer from polycystic ovary syndrome or PCOS.

In an interview for SiriusXM, the 37-year-old singer reflected on how she finally was diagnosed with the condition and how none of her prior gynecologists informed her that she had it.

“I hadn’t heard about it in all my gynecology appointments. I hadn’t heard about it until I went to go see a doctor named Dr. Aliabadi, and she let me know that this is what’s going on with my body, Monét said.

She continued, “[Aliabadi] was showing me the ultrasounds of like literal cysts in my ovaries, and I’m like, wait, it kind of makes sense because I had been in really long relationships where, quite candidly, that we weren’t using protection and I never got pregnant until my big age. So I’m like, ‘Oh, I understand now it was more difficult for me to do so.'”