We’ve all seen the pictures on Pinterest—wooden palettes with thoughtful arrangements of salami, a trail of bright dried apricots snaking its way through meat and cheese. For many of us, the art of cheeseboarding seems a little beyond our ability. How do I know which cheese to choose? Which flowers are edible? Where do I find Marcona almonds? With Peck, Cecilia Laseter aims to make it easy (as well as cheesy).
Laseter’s Charlottesville food scene roots run deep—she was in marketing and business development with Relay Foods as the company got off the ground, then moved to working in the kitchen at former West Main hot spot Zinc with Justin Hershey. But after earning her MBA from the University of Texas McCombs School of Business in Austin, a marketing gig with Whole Foods’ corporate office, and some time off to be with her first child, in 2020 she got back into the culinary world.
“I started [Peck] in Austin as a sort of Blue Apron for charcuterie boards shipped across the country, but as the pandemic hit, we quickly moved into hosting virtual charcuterie building workshops for companies with remote workers across the country.” The virtual classes are still the bread and butter (cheese and cracker?) of her business, but if you’re just one person looking to build a beautiful board, Peck is the place.
Here’s how it works: Head to peckboards.com, pick out the one that catches your eye, and hit “Add to cart.” Peck will send you everything you need (including fresh fruit and edible flowers or herbs) and provide a guide for assembly.
Laseter says she uses a specialty food distributor for most of the products, but Peck is adding more and more local flavors to the offerings, too, like honey from Sourwood Farm.
“We’ve carefully curated our cheese selections to create balance on our boards,” Laseter says. “After all, variety and balance are the key to building a beautiful board in our book.”
Still have questions? Stop by Peck’s Charlottesville outpost (at 213 E. Water St.) to talk through the right combo of cheese textures and flavors, or pick up a pre-made board.
