The Art of Charcuterie offers healthy, hand-crafted charcuterie boards

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – After a challenging year in the COVID-19 pandemic, a Columbia café adapted to restrictions by opening a new business – offering fresh and healthy charcuterie boards for pickup or delivery.

The Art of Charcuterie is part of Chef Judy Etheredge’s Celeb Studio Cafe, a co-working space and café that went through some changes in the last year.

“We had to pivot,” said Chef Etheredge, commonly known as Chef J, “Instead of a workspace, we turned it into a free workspace and then the challenges were that we were so behind, because everything was shutdown and so we were closed down for about eight weeks.”

Hard times created fresh ideas for Chef J and she expanded her business by creating healthy and creative charcuterie boards for her community.

“We have provided hundreds of people with charcuterie boxes of all different sizes and they have done them for gifts, for parties, for sympathy – instead of a card they’ll gift them a charcuterie box,” Etheredge explains, “It’s been amazing as to all the different ways people come up with giving.”

A mix of bite-sized snacks and pieces, Chef J says no two charcuterie boards are the same, “Every board is different and when I get into building it, I’m in a whole other zone.”

The new business venture has been a creative outlet that so far, has been paying off. Chef J says her customers have been loving the boards, also noting how charcuterie boards, in general, have gained popularity, “I think it’s just so appealing and it’s variety,” Chef J explains. “And a lot of people like freshness, especially us, we like everything to be fresh. Believe it or not, on the board, there’s not anything that’s processed except for the crackers.”

For Chef J it’s all about the freshness – some of the vegetables she uses even come right from her garden.

And while every board’s layout is different, there is one ingredient that makes an appearance on every Chef J board, “Always rosemary, always rosemary,” Chef J laughs, “I go out every morning and cut fresh rosemary and put on the boards – that’s my signature.”

A small touch amidst a greater goal of helping others form healthy eating habits.

That’s something Chef J says will make you feel like a celebrity in your own life and it’s the reason she’s created a the Celeb Studio space, “Feel good look good and take care of yourself. That’s why we always say, everybody is a celebrity once you hit this space, you’re a celebrity.”

For more information on The Art of Charcuterie and Celeb Studio Café, visit https://celebstudiosc.com/

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