TRODDING (AND ARRANGING) THE BOARDS

The Rep’s Kelley Faulkner turns her artistic eye to charcuterie

By Ryan Albrechtson

If music be the food of love, play on…

Maybe no one knows that better than Milwaukee’s own Kelley Faulkner, a professional actor who is tackling another art form: charcuterie boards.

“I was actually food blogging for the last few years under the name

Butternut Posh,” said Faulkner, who had just closed the Milwaukee Rep’s production of Nunsense in January of 2020. “It was a bit of a happy accident. I changed my username to that because I thought it was kind of a funny pun. And then I started getting really passionate about food, documenting my food journey, and started dabbling in photography and those worlds kind of melded.”

In the French tradition, charcuterie (pronounced "shahr-ku-tuh-ree") is the art of preparing and assembling cured meats and meat products. A charcuterie board is an assortment of meats, cheeses, artisan breads, olives, fruit, and nuts, all artfully arranged on a serving board. The term has also been used for other artfully displayed boards of desserts and other foods.

“The charcuterie thing was just a natural extension,” said Faulkner. “I just started experimenting with creating beautiful food landscapes, if you will. I know that’s a trend that’s become really popular, which is cool to see because it’s such a fun trend. I feel it’s an accessible way to create beautiful food at home.”

Faulkner’s professional acting career is quite an impressive one. “I actually started acting professionally as a kid,” said Faulkner. “I did some regional equity theatre in New Jersey, and I had an agent when I was in middle school — doing commercials, industrials, and television shows. I managed to lead a fairly normal childhood despite all of that. But I have been doing this professionally since forever.”

After graduating college, Faulkner continued her career in Philadelphia for five years, a place she describes as a “beautiful theatre community.” Then in 2010, Faulkner made Milwaukee her home, and has been delighting our audiences ever since.

Once Covid-19 slowed down the performing arts industry, Faulkner was able to channel her creative energy in a new and unique way. “It sort of became a Covid-pivot by accident,” said Faulkner. I was making them for my family and for some friends and people said to me ‘You should sell these, you should actually try to do this.’ And so I’ve been dabbling in it and it’s actually been really fun. It’s definitely been a different kind of creative outlet for me.”

When looking at the intricate designs and shapes of some of these boards, it’s clear that you need an artist’s eye to be a charcuterie board success. “I get as much information as I can about what the client’s preferences are, obviously allergies and that. But I do try to sort of figure out what people like, what they veer toward, and what kind of occasion it is, and then just go to work,” said Faulkner. I don't actually sketch things out before I do them. I just go ahead and do them, so they really are kind of like paintings — each one is original . I kind of know what works and what doesn’t work for me in terms of spacing and so I just let creativity take hold and make something unique for each customer.”

“It certainly scratches a creative itch in a different way,” said Faulkner. “Food is a way of expressing love!

People can prepare food, even super simple foods, with love. I don’t eat to live, I live to eat. I’ve always loved creating a meal for my family, even if it’s just us at home and not necessarily a holiday. I get a lot of satisfaction out of creating these sort of mini experiences for people. And usually when people are ordering charcuterie boards it is their way of treating someone in their life (or maybe even just themselves) to a little extra love and care. And so it's been really gratifying from that standpoint.”

While Butternut Posh continues to grow, Faulkner’s equally as excited to get back to the stage. “I would love to be able to balance both. I would love for this to be not just my side hustle but my parallel hustle, because I really love doing it,” said Faulkner.

You can learn about Kelley, her food blogging, recipes, and (of course) her charcuterie boards by visiting: www.butternutposh.com

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