Everyone loves a good charcuterie board, complete with artisan meats and cheeses, cookie-cutter fresh fruit slices, assorted nuts, and sugar-coated candies combined on flat, wooden boards; they make the best gifts or snacks or party decorations. Lately, many locals have been ordering their handcrafted goodies from Chatham Charcuterie.

Sydney Lassen and her husband, Ben, are a two-man team. The charcuterie-making couple moved to Savannah from Virginia Beach in August 2020. By November, they began Chatham Charcuterie. The owner and creator said she was inspired to start her business from her own life experiences.

“My husband and I are avid wine tasters and drinkers, so we go get wine all over the country and outside of the country as well,” Lassen said. “We always order charcuterie with it just because it goes so well with wine.”

When the missus got the idea, her husband was on board. “I called my husband saying I want to do this thing,” Lassen said. “He said, ‘I support you,’ and I started the next day. It’s been my full-time since November.”

The business took off almost immediately.

“We had tons of orders and people were constantly wanting a board for the weekend of Christmas and New Year,” Lassen said. “I would say around the holidays, we really noticed that we were doing well.”

Lassen said she originally began making boards for friends, family and co-workers as a start-up business in Virginia. When she brought her business to Savannah, it really began to sky rocket.

“Some of the connections were made through Dean Moesch of @whattodoinsavannah on Instagram. That’s the first person that we really linked up with, and it’s how we got more of a following here,” Lassen said.

On a busy week, the business owner said her team makes over two dozen charcuterie boards, and during holidays she receives upwards of 50 orders. Lassen said she has increased her speed to complete three boards in an hour at approximately 15-20 minutes each, versus her starting speed of one hour per board. The crafter said she had alternative ways of expressing herself creatively before she started making charcuterie boards.

“I’m pretty creative,” she said. “I like planning and organizing for weddings and events for friends and family. I planned my own wedding.”

Now, she draws her creative inspiration from grocery shopping trips, brainstorms and the hundreds of creators within the charcuterie-making community on Instagram.

During the holidays, the couple makes themed boards inspired by Memorial Day red, white, and blues, and St. Patrick’s Day greens, while always including the seasonal fruit and vegetables.

Though Lassen started her business as a little something to make some extra money in her new town, it has grown into something prosperous. “We have more orders and customers and people reaching out for bigger events like Connect Savannah, wine tasting events and wine groups,” Lassen said. “I was like wow this is actually something that’s not only lucrative but it is a business that we can grow.”

To view examples of Lassen’s charcuterie boards, visit instagram.com/chathamcharcuterie. To purchase, visit linktr.ee/chathamcharcuterie.

This article appears in 06-02-2021.