Recently we visited the home of Courtney Wright, owner of Savor Style, a Birmingham business that features custom grazing boards and styled spreads. She invited us into her lovely home to share tips about creating the perfect grazing board (popularly known as a charcuterie board) and about her journey to running her own thriving business.
The Savor Style Story
Courtney had previously worked in marketing, catering, and for two wedding coordinators (all jobs with skillsets that translated well into her new business). After having her triplets —Liam, Elin, and Lachlan — she decided to stay at home with them for a while. Even though she loved being home with her babies, Courtney was in search of a creative outlet, and after some encouragement from her friend Susan Gordon (Susan Gordon Pottery), she began her business, Savor Style. Charcuterie and grazing boards were becoming popular in Europe and other areas so Courtney decided to bring delicious styled spreads to sweet home Alabama.
This line of work really suited Courtney because she loves grocery shopping, and sourcing ingredients is one of her favorite activities. She especially loves working with Pepper Place vendors, Stonehollow Farms, and Susan Gordon Pottery (whose pottery pieces are often featured in her boards). Whether she is browsing the aisles at Trader Joe's to find the perfect items for an at-home board or working directly with local farms and vendors to find the best fresh ingredients, she is loving every minute of it! One of our favorite things that Courtney offers is curated gift boxes which feature her favorite products from local and small businesses. It includes a mini graze board and non-perishable items, so it can be shipped anywhere!
Courtney taught us so much about grazing boards during our visit. Did you know that “charcuterie board” actually refers to a board with only meats? That’s why Courtney calls her delicious delights grazing boards because they are filled with a variety of cheeses, meats, crackers, fresh fruits, dried fruits, nuts, herbs and jam or honey. Wow what a spread! Courtney put together a delicious grazing board while we were chatting (head to our Instagram page if you’d like to see her process!), and we loved watching her transform a simple wooden board into an edible masterpiece.
Expert Tips to Build Your Own Board
We asked Courtney for some expert tips for creating our own grazing boards at home. She suggested that when setting up a grazing board, you should think about which flavors pair well together and put them near each other (example: salami and cheese instead of salami and chocolate). You should also prepare the board so that it’s easy for you and your guests to eat by slicing the cheeses, folding the salami, etc. Gravitate toward berries or dried fruit since fruits like apples and pears tend to go brown when sitting out. You can use beautiful small dishes for olives, honey or soft spreads, and they give some interest to the look of the board and give you something to build your other ingredients around.
Grazing boards are perfect for so many occasions including engagement parties, bridal showers, bachelorette parties, and even weddings. They really work well for small or large events. We highly recommend checking out @savor_style on Instagram for more amazing tips and beautiful inspiration. If you are planning your own get together and you really want to impress your guests with a styled spread, we highly recommend letting Courtney Wright work her magic for you!
