Charcuterie platters are all the rage, and our culinary port city offers a variety of options. When diligently sourced and beautifully displayed, charcuterie boards give us a little taste of everything: meats, cheese, dips, and pickles. And when paired with a crafted cocktail or glass of sparkling, it’s the perfect sharing experience. Whether you're ordering curated spreads for home entertaining or eating out, we've selected our favorite boards.
Charcuterie Chic ILM is a charcuterie delivery service which focuses on building community, connection and shared experience through food. Owner Amanda Medina's goal is to provide top quality products and services directly to your home. Whether it's a custom charcuterie boards, charcuterie cups or graze boxes, Charcuterie Chic curates beautiful, hand-made spreads.
The Boards
"I always enjoy tailoring my boards to the current season," says Medina. "During winter you'll find my self- made sugared cranberries sprinkled throughout your board alongside cranberry goat cheese. One of Charcuterie Chic popular boards, is a date night board. "A customer requested a cheese board that would pair well with a robust, red wine so the board included manchego and blue stilton. I also included grapes, a Santa Rosa plum, figs, pistachios and peppered salami."
Charcuterie Chic also offers custom boards for customers who provide a board of their own. Don’t own a board? No problem! Beautiful 32x9 inch boards are also available to rent. Custom graze boxes also make for the perfect gift. What better way to say "thank you" or “congratulations” than via cheese?
3 Essential Elements on a Charcuterie Board.
On any charcuterie board, having a balance of sweet and savory items is the key to deliciousness. I always include an equal ratio of hard and soft cheeses, grapes and a meat. My favorite hard cheese to use is manchego, while my favorite soft cheese would be brie. They both style beautifully. I enjoy using red grapes during the fall and winter months and green during the spring and summer. As far as meat, I enjoy using different varieties of salami such as peppered or Italian dry. Prosciutto is also another great choice and styles beautifully.
What holiday cocktail would you pair with the board?
You can’t go wrong with champagne! But put a fun holiday twist on it by adding cranberry juice and fresh cranberries. I call this the poinsettia. It is light, refreshing and pairs wonderfully with soft cheeses such as camembert, goat and brie.
What's happening this Holiday Season?
As you can imagine, the holiday season is my busiest (and most exciting) time of the year. Placing your order as early as possible is greatly appreciated as they are first come, first serve. I am accepting orders every day with the exception of Christmas Day. I look forward to serving you all this holiday season and beyond!
A Charcuterie board from The Green House is a delightful ensemble of flavors and textures. They pride themselves on using only the freshest, seasonal fruits and vegetables, coupled with delectable homemade dips, a mushroom conserva, a selection of baguettes, crackers, sweet potato chips, and an assortment of spiced and candied nuts.
The Boards
What sets their charcuterie board apart is their commitment to creating everything in-house. You won't find any store-bought items here. Each element is meticulously prepared by their skilled chefs, ensuring a truly special and unique experience.
3 Essential Elements on a Charcuterie Board.
A quality charcuterie board consists of three essential elements: variety, color, and beautiful presentation. Carefully crafted board offers a wide range of options to cater to every palate. Vibrant display is a feast for the eyes, enhancing the overall dining experience.
What holiday cocktail would you pair with the board?
Charcuterie board is a creative and social food. To complement this delightful ensemble, holiday cocktails have to meet the same criterias: Cranberry margarita or Hugo spritz are fantastic classy options. An Aperol Sour is aperitivo is Owner, Anastasia Worrell's favorite choice.
The Steam Restaurant charcuterie board consists of 3 cured meats and 3 artisan cheeses, accompanied by a house made jam, dried fruit, whole grain mustard, cornichons, smoked almonds, Carolina wildflower honey, marinated olives and grilled baguette.
The Boards
"The cured meats and artisan cheeses change on a regular basis based on availability and most importantly guest feedback," says Chef William Slade. "Generally, we carry an aged cheddar, such as Hooks Cheddar that is aged anywhere from 3 to 5 years. We also offer local cheeses such as Lindale Gouda and Snow Camp goat Cheese from The Goat Lady creamery. A blue cheese is also a staple, and might include a Maytag Blue, Smokey Blue or Blue Jay Blue which is infused with Juniper berries."
The meat selection on Steam's boards are also changed regularly and often include aged Italian hams, like spicy capicola, dry cured Suprasada and Prosciutto. They also use cured and aged salamis and often include pistachio salami and a venison salami.
"Our accompaniments make our board unique," says Slade. The house jam is a favorite and made with Marion blackberries. The dried fruit consists of a blend of apricots, apples, and plums and tart cherries. The sweet and tart flavors pair perfectly with the meats and cheeses. The cornichons provide a mild sour flavor that is balanced with the honey which is a North Carolina product. The smoked almonds offer a salty and mild smokey taste, that rounds out the spectrum of flavors for the board."
3 Essential Elements on a Charcuterie Board.
The essential elements of any good charcuterie board start with quality cheeses and meats, the appropriate accompaniments must pair well with both the meats and cheeses and a quality bread or cracker is vital. Finally, presentation is a must. The board must not be overcrowded and neatly but rustically presented.
Slade recommends starting with quality cheeses and meats. Choose accompaniments that pair well with both the meats and cheeses and adding a good quality bread or cracker is vital. Finally, Slade emphasizes, presentation, making sure not to overcrowd the board.
Founded in 2022, Wilmington Charcuterie serves Wilmington, Wrightsville, Carolina Beach, Kure Beach, and Leland community. The company started with the Founder & CEO, Jemma Luke, making charcuterie boards and grazing tables for friends and family. Now, alongside her husband & business partner, Greg Luke, they create beautiful and delicious spreads.
The Board
"Wilmington Charcuterie is unique in that every order is intricately stylized, handmade with love and features a variety of dry cured meats, regional & international cheeses, fresh produce, assorted nuts, artisanal crackers, delicious spreads and more," says Luke.One of the stand out things about Wilmington Charcuterie are their grazing table spreads. Not satisfied with a simple flat-lay grazing table, their grazing tables feature multiple tiers of fruits, height, and dimension.
The Cheese the Day Box, is one of their most popular gift items. It includes 3 artisan cheeses, 2 cured meats, seasonal fresh and dried fruits, gourmet crunches, sweet treats, honey, and preserves. The cheeses pictured above are Spanish Manchego (Jemma's Favorite!), Blueberry Goat Cheese, and Smoked Gouda. (Special Tip: Blueberry Goat Cheese tastes similar to blueberry cheesecake, just pair with some graham crackers! Chef's Kiss.) The cured meats pictured are Cracked Pepper Salami and Prosciutto (Greg's Favorite!)
3 Essential Elements on a Charcuterie Board.
"Every charcuterie board needs is a blend of sweet, savory, and a beautiful presentation because people eat with their eyes first," says Luke.
Some great pairing options are:
Sharp Cheddar + Spicy Calabrese (optional) + Almonds + Red Grapes
Spanish Manchego + Spanish Chorizo + Almonds/Pistachios + Red Grapes + Dried Apricot
French Brie + Genoa Salami + Fig Preserves
What holiday cocktail would you pair with the board?
"The simplest option is always going to be a DOC/DOCG labeled Prosecco. The dry, bubbly drink helps cleanse the palate, so the flavors don't overpower one another," says Luke. "My best advice for any wine is to look for that DOC/DOCG label on the side of the wine bottle's neck. The 'denominazione di origine controllata' (DOC) system, introduced in 1963, is based on the French model (AOC), but goes one step further: It specifies not only the production area and methods for each wine, but also guarantees the quality standard of certain wines which pass a government taste test."
A Thyme Savor is a family-owned business with a team of experienced & passionate professionals who have been catering to the Wilmington area for over 20 years. They are constantly producing new ideas and recipes using fresh & local ingredients.
The Board
Each charcuterie board features plenty of house-made items + North Carolina products. There's house-made pimento cheese with NC Accidental Baker flatbread crackers. For crunch they add pickled okra and radishes. For sharpness, a little Ashe County Sharp Cheddar. For sweetness, NC Wildflower infused honey, house-made candied pecans & walnuts. For saltyness there's prosciutto wrapped mozzarella, house-made Boursin cheese, white stilton with cranberry, crumbled roquefort, marinated olives, and caperberries.
3 Essential Elements on a Charcuterie Board.
A good charcuterie board offers a variety of flavors that allow your palate to explore sweet, savory, briny & tart options. Plus, a creative presentation of colors, shapes & unique patterns or folds. Lastly, texture is key. You need smooth spreads & dips, crunchy crackers or nuts, firm & soft cheeses, delicate meats, and luscious fruits.
What holiday cocktail would you pair with the board?
Salted Caramel Spiked Apple Cider - it’s sweet & savory just like a charcuterie board.