Photo courtesy of Charcuterie Collection
Perfect for an outdoor picnic or a snack to bring boating, these custom-made charcuterie and cheese boards will elevate your quarantine snacking. Boards by Soph and Charcuterie Collection are two recent business ventures born during the COVID-19 pandemic, offering delivery services by two new entrepreneurs.
After graduating from the University of Miami in May, Yorktown-based Sophie Dippolito had a hard time getting a job, as a result of the coronavirus. The computational mathematics major started creating cheese and charcuterie boards, as she saw them as the perfect combination of her passions for art and food. “I like to think of my boards and boxes as little pieces of art.” Initially she began creating the boards strictly for her Instagram account @boardsbysoph, but then received “immediate, overwhelmingly positive feedback,” and realized she could turn her hobby into a business, Boards by Soph, her first foray into entrepreneurship. Boards start at $50, and are available on www.boardsbysoph.com.
Her boards include meat, cheese, fruit, and vegetables, and are arranged meticulously. As the sole employee (her younger brother does the deliveries), Dippolito hand makes the boards, photographs and edits her own photography, runs the social media accounts, and manages all inventory. She says the demand has been high, averaging about 10 ten orders per week, including many large custom boards. “It’s been incredible to see the excitement of my customers right out the gate,” shares Dippolito.
Laura Zapata of Bedford, who works full time for a construction company in Mount Pleasant, began her business Charcuterie Collection in May as a response to adapt to the changing needs based on the pandemic. Earlier this past year, she says her dream was to offer full-service grazing table displays to the Westchester County area.
Due to the pandemic, she shifted gears to adapt her services to a meat and cheese platter delivery service, after having made over-the-top meat and cheese spreads for family parties and holidays. She says, “From the start I’ve always received compliments and praise by guests regarding the attention to detail and the overall aesthetics of the display of the tables. It’s then that I knew I discovered a hidden talent and passion for something special.”
All orders are customizable, and can include cheese, meats, jam spreads, honey, and chocolate-dipped pretzels. She creates all boards herself and averages 10-15 gift box orders per week, delivering to your doorstep. Holidays have tripled her volume, which, she says she welcomes. Boards start at $45.
