Friends turn love of charcuterie into a flavor-packed business

IDAHO FALLS — From savory meats to artisan cheeses, a local business helps create lasting memories with aesthetically pleasing food. 

Longtime friends Sarah Clark and Jamie Bailey own Sweet & Salty Charcuterie at 109 West 17th Street in Idaho Falls. They’ve been in business since 2021 and offer charcuterie boards, classes and grazing tables. There’s also a charcuterie cart that can be rented for events. 

What is charcuterie? 

Clark and Bailey describe charcuterie as an elevated lunchable, that’s fancy on a tray. 

“People are like, ‘Oh, meat and cheese on a tray.’ I’m like, ‘Pepperoni and salami. Not Colby-Jack and not mozzarella, but an artisan cheese: a dill Havarti or BellaVitano or a goat cheese or a sheep’s milk cheese. It’s not just your sliced cheddar,’” Clark said. 

“We try to do everything we can to educate the public on what charcuterie is because a lot of people don’t know,” Bailey added. 

Bailey told EastIdahoNews.com they stay with a classic charcuterie, meaning cured meats (no sandwich meats) and cheeses. 

“We make sure that our flavor combinations go well together,” she said. “Charcuterie is an experience. It’s more than just food. It literally is an experience because it is about your pairings, it’s about your quality and then you have the visual on top of it all.”

Lunch 

There are different board options that are sold, including the lunchbox size, which serves one person. It’s $10. It’s packed with different flavors and typically has nuts, fruit, and crackers that go along with the meat and cheese. There’s pickled okra, too and a sweet treat. 

“We always make sure we have coconut and apricots because they’re a palate cleanser, so people can try new things without flavors carrying over,” Bailey said. 

The business is open on Wednesdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. for lunch, where customers can pick up a lunchbox-sized charcuterie.

“We have a lady who comes every single Friday and orders from us. Her and her husband use them as their weekend treat. But the nice thing for them is they’re trying new cheeses quite often,” Bailey said. 

There are also gourmet sandwiches offered during lunch. Outside of the hours, Clark and Bailey are available for appointments and catering orders. 

Click here to see the board options and the prices. Some of the board options can feed up to 12-18 people. It comes with four to five cheeses, three to four meats, assorted fruit, nuts, jams, various accompaniments, and crackers on a disposable tray. 

Classes

Hands-on classes are offered once a month to the public and will start up again in September. It costs $70 per person. Some people come with friends or even make it into a date night. It’s about an hour long. 

“You get to make your own personalized little tray. We teach you how to make our pepperoni roses. We teach you how to cut some of the cheeses and how to style it,” Clark said. 

If you want a private experience, the business offers private classes for $60 per person with a minimum of six people in attendance. Click here for class information. 

Graze tables 

There are graze tables for special events. It’s an opportunity where you get to try everything. Bailey and Clark describe it as a buffet of charcuterie. 

“That’s where we can add in dragon fruits, mangoes, golden kiwis and artisan breads. We get to level it up to another experience because you can only fit so much on a tray, but with a graze table, our options are endless. We can add in custom desserts,” Bailey said. 

The table features cured meats, cheeses, fresh fruits, cucumbers with dip, nuts, baguettes, ciabatta bread, premium dips, and crackers. There’s greenery and wood displays for the setup too. 

Bailey and Clark invite people to give them a try, whether it’s for lunch, a family dinner, game night, or a baby shower, you name it.

“It’s a very niche thing, but it’s becoming more and more popular,” Clark said.