Entrepreneur spreads her love of locally-sourced charcuterie to Penticton
The owner of a new booming charcuterie business near Keremeos has announced she's expanding her specialty meat and cheese service to foodies in Penticton.
Long-time journalist Nikki Bayley of Boards of Keremeos is switching careers and she said the change is tasting delicious.
“The food culture here is extraordinary. It’s Canada’s organic growing capital with lots of farmers and growers,” she said. “This seemed a fun way to share the love and showcase local suppliers and products.”
Bayley creates charcuterie boards with locally sourced meats, cheeses, fruit and nuts, and hand delivers the boxes to customers between Cawston and Penticton. She also brings in fine European cheese and will soon be ordering cheese from Quebec.
“I’ve always loved charcuterie. I’m a complete cheese fiend and love that snacky-style of eating,” she said.
The switch from being a journalist to creating savoury charcuterie boards was sparked when Bayley moved to the tiny the town of Olalla near Keremeos a few months before the pandemic.
“The pandemic was isolating. I had a couple of years of tough times and I didn’t want to be in an office writing anymore,” she said.
Her favourite part of the business is watching people coming together to enjoy good food and good company.
“It’s so fun already. I have regular customers and its brilliant being part of their weekend fun,” she said. “I love nothing more than people coming round with dinner and getting together.”
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Bayley is working on creating a plant-based charcuterie board, which she calls a BC board and a Quebec board.
“I’m getting in fantastic European cheeses. We pride ourselves on access to French, Dutch and German cheeses that maybe we don’t get to see so much of here.”
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Bayley spent the past two decades writing about food and drink and now calls herself a “recovering journalist.”
“AI is slowly gobbling up my income and business. I do copyright work for clients and it’s starting to go by the way,” she said. “I thought, what is robot proof? I’m sure a bot can’t replicate cheese and ham in a box.”
Go here to see what is on the menu at Boards of Keremeos and how to place your order.
— This article was corrected at 9:58 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 21, 2023, with the correct spelling of Nikki Bayley's last name.
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