Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Erica Lent. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Erica, appreciate you joining us today. Covid has brought about so many changes – has your business model changed?

Pre covid I figured my future would be owning my own restaurant, working holidays, and 7 days a week. However when the restaurant industry shut down during covid I quickly realized working 80 hours a week isnt something I really wanted to do. So fast forward 4 years and here I am working for myself starting my own charcuterie company which makes making my own schedule, traveling with my partner, and just feeling rested my main priorities. Priorities I never would have had owning my own restaurant. Now my business Boards by Erica focuses on the most important things I love most about cooking, making people happy with delicious and beautiful food. While this entire process has been stressful at times, making these huge changes in my work-life balance, while also creating a company that I am incredibly proud of, has been fullfilling and exciting.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My life has been centered around food and cooking for as long as I can remember, from our family trips to Little Italy in NYC to watching pasta sheets dry on the back of my great grandmas kitchen chairs. Which was no surprise to my family when I made the choice to attend Johnson and Wales in Providence, RI where I received my associates and bachelors in Culinary Arts and Food Service Management, respectfully. Im a clasically trained, fine dining chef with over 12 years of experience in high volume kitchens. I started Boards by Erica to have a way to not only work for myself, but also to be able to express my artistic side, while always making sure my clients needs are not only met, but exceeded. Currently we are serving the greater Seattle area with charcuterie, crudite, and barkuterie in the form of boxes, cups, boards, and grazing tables. We also are partnering with breweries and wineries to provide our culinary creations with our local community. We are hoping to expand in the future with additional community partnerships, charcuterie workshops, and private/corproate events. What makes Boards by Erica so unique is the use of seasonal, local ingredients, while making the products completely customizable for the guests. Seasonal jams, crackers and some charcuterie meats are made in house, setting us a part from others in the industry. While this a new and growing start-up, Im proud of how quickly we have started to expand and the outpour of positive feedback from our customers and local partners.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

So far we have had the most success with forming partnerships with local businesses. While this is evolving, we have had the pleasure of being able to collaborate with supportive business owners. This has occured in a range of ways including pop-ups at a local winery, to selling charcuterie boxes wholesale at Seattle based breweries, and being hired to cater private events. Through all of this we are able to increase our marketing and advertising efforts to expand our clientele.

If you have multiple revenue streams in your business, would you mind opening up about what those streams are and how they fit together?

Yes we do. We have website sales, wholesale, vendor pop-ups and event catering.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.boardsbyerica.com
• Instagram: @boardsbyerica.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/boardsbyerica/