Kera Pezzuti/Courtesy photo
Charcuteski, pronounced “shar-ku-tuh-ski,” is the art of turning instruments of the mountain into the ideal charcuterie board.
The trend was popularized nearly three years ago when Park City resident Kera Pezzuti and her friends enjoyed a mountainside picnic on their skis at a nearby resort. After posting their makeshift charcuterie board, which consisted of meat, cheese and other accompaniments, on social media, a family member told Pezzuti that it could become something big.
So she cofounded the Instagram account @charcuteski. What started as 100 followers in the first week ballooned to more than 1,000 within a month. Today, the account has garnered over 19,000 followers and featured posts from charcuterie lovers from Canada to New Zealand
“It’s been really nice to see what we have created and how much people enjoy it,” Pezzuti said. “What I really like seeing is how engaged other people are.”
Pezzuti made her first charcuteski in February 2021 after the COVID-19 pandemic had shuttered ski areas for much of the prior season. At the time, ski lodges were running at around half capacity and some even required reservations to eat.
“It made the lodge more stressful, which in my opinion is already a stressful thing,” Pezzuti said.
Seeking an alternative, a friend of Pezzuti’s had come up with the charcuteski idea, which was quickly adopted by her friend group. Tucked away from the bustle of the mountain, Pezzuti and others would huddle on the side of ski runs and enjoy a filling midday meal.
“You don’t have to go into the lodge, but you don’t have to cram a sandwich in your mouth on the chairlift. You can make it enjoyable,” Pezzuti said.
For Evergreen resident Kayla Perry, making a charcuteski on a snowboard last January was the perfect way to spend a date on the mountain.
“I was excited to snowboard, but I wanted to do something more intimate, something conversational and unique,” said Perry, who was heading to Keystone Resort with her boyfriend at the time.
By browsing through the charcuteski Instagram and other social media forums, Perry garnered ideas that made for a romantic lunch. Red peppadew peppers reminiscent of hearts, cured meat in the shape of roses, flavored jelly and, of course, an assortment of fine cheese. After wiping down her snowboard with a Clorox wipe and assembling her ingredients, Perry and her boyfriend enjoyed small bites in the trees of Keystone’s Timberwolf run — using a hand warmer for their numb fingers afterwards.
“What really drew me to it is the fact that it takes a little more effort, and it’s not just a one-person thing,” Perry said. “It’s definitely something you do with somebody.”
For Courtney Leedahl, co-owner the Cheese Shop of Breckenridge and a self-described “charcutect,” there are a few tips and tricks to keep in mind when assembling your charcuteski.
The first is to consider what kind of cheese will be best for a mountain excursion. This includes looking for chees that are durable during travel and have a flavor that will hold up in colder temperatures.
Softer cheeses, such as camembert and brie, are typically best enjoyed at room temperature while hard, alpine cheese like gouda or comte “are all awesome cheeses to eat on the site of a mountain no matter the temperature,” Leedahl said.
Harder chees is also likely to fare better in a backpack that’s headed up the slopes, while softer cheese runs the risk of becoming smushed. Still, Leedahl said she always encourages charcuterie builders to incorporate different kinds of cheese, from soft to hard to various milk types, to provide a well-rounded tasting experience.
“While they won’t all look very pretty, they’ll still be delicious,” Leedahl said.
To save time when on the mountain, Leedahl recommended prepping the charcuterie beforehand. That can include slicing and bagging cheese and meats. Doing so can also help incorporate more design into a board, with Leedahl adding that she likes to cut her cheese in all shapes and sizes, from matchsticks to triangles to “plain ole’ cubes.”
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Spreading the various cheese around the board will help keep the eye moving. Leedahl said alternating the cheese or meat can create a fan design, further elevating the board’s appearance.
Charcuteski builders should also remember to add accompaniments, such as jams, olives, pickles, crackers and fruit, to their board. Doing so helps create more complex tastes, with a mixture of flavor profiles and textures.
Leedahl said she especially enjoys adding sweets to the board, whether that be in the form of berries, chocolate or candy. There’s nothing that’s off limits when it comes to what to put on a board, she added.
“Sometimes, I think the most unexpected things you find on a charcuterie board end up being the most enjoyable,” Leedahl said.
While cheese can be enjoyed on its own, especially if it’s a person’s first time tasting it, Leedahl suggested eating pieces on the board altogether, adding, “It will end up being a symphony of flavors in your mouth no matter what combination you put together.”
But perhaps the most important tip is to remember why you’re charuteskiing to begin with.
“So much of charcuteski to me is spending more time on the mountain with your friends. Sometimes your legs need a break, sometimes the snow is not so good,” said Pezzuti, the Instagram account cofounder. “If you want to have a little bit more fun during your day, then charcuteski.”
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