Charcuterie Board Challenge
Kate Wildrick, February 12, 2024
Appetizers are a wonderful low risk way to try new foods — especially for kids and picky eaters of all ages. Our pallets change over time and it can be easy to find yourself staying in the comfort of your tried and true flavors, textures and aromas. Charcuterie boards offer a wonderful and creative way to not only experience food but also generate some conversation and connection.
Traditional charcuterie boards have often included various cured meats (such as salami, prosciutto, summer sausages, pepperoni, etc.), soft and aged cheeses, olives, grapes, nuts, breads and crackers. However, with the rise of many social platforms, many culinary artists and amateur food enthusiasts have come up with very creative ways to combine and display food that ignites interest and wonder.
If you spend some time venturing to see what others have made, you will discover that there are a lot of wonderful ideas out there. For example, you can create different boards that focus solely on fruits, desserts, savory items, dips and spreads, or even themes like movie night spreads or southwest cuisine. The possibilities are endless!
Not only can you design your boards to appeal to a certain taste, you can also incorporate artistic creativity to arrange foods by colors and textures into visual art pieces or even images (such an famous pictures or landscapes). Working with flowers and other objects to help build a layered or more 3D effect can literally take your creation to another level.
You can design your own charcuterie board with the following questions in mind :
- Does your board serve a purpose?
- Is it a way for you to explore new a different types of foods?
- Is it providing an experience around a theme or idea you want to highlight?
- Is it giving space to explore creative expression?
- Is it a way to build connection with your family, friends or work group?
- What kind of social experience would you like your charcuterie board to contribute to?
- Is it part of a party or social gathering theme?
- Is it bringing awareness to a certain topic or matter?
- Is it meant to be a conversational piece?
- What kind of creative elements can you incorporate into making your board?
- What type of platters, plates, dishes would compliment the look and feel of your display?
- What kind of flowers, artistic adornments, or other items might you wish to include?
- What sources of lighting (candles, accent lighting, etc.) may be helpful to work with to showcase what you have created?
Giving some thought to these questions may help you, especially when you are looking at the countless designs that are out there on the internet. As you give some thought to what to create, we encourage you to participate in our charcuterie board challenge! Here are the details:
Participate in the Charcuterie Board Challenge!
We are looking to highlight charcuterie boards that inspire other people to play with and experience food in new ways. That is it! You can share what you create with us by sending it to us to highlight here.
