WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT?

Adult Lunchables

Former brewery tour operator Elizabeth Choto’s pandemic pivot into charcuterie —Graze Dat! — is keeping her plate full.

BY ASHLEY MCLELLAN PHOTOS BY SARA ESSEX BRADLEY

NEW ORLEANS CULINARY ENTREPRENEUR Elizabeth Choto transformed a love of food and a need to soak up some boozy nights, into a burgeoning catering business with the launch of Graze Dat! charcuterie this past August. Since then, her works of culinary art have garnered the former educator-turned-brewery-tour-guide a wide following on Instagram, catching the eye of clients from all walks of life for parties, celebrations, family gatherings and more.

After moving to New Orleans four years ago, Choto dove headlong into the city’s love of food and drink, creating a brewery tour business, Big Easy Beer Tours. When COVID-19 shut the tour business down, Choto pivoted online, and from those virtual interactions, her newest venture came about. Graze Dat! was born out of a practical necessity, spurred on by Choto and her brewery guests’ big love for those “big boozy beers.”

“Graze Dat! was a complete accident! I had a brewery tour in New Orleans when the pandemic hit and that forced me to shut down physical beer tastings,” Choto said. “Months later, I hosted virtual tastings and during one of those, my guests and I got sloshed. My sister suggested that I have some sort of food. I reached out to everyone for the next tasting and encouraged them to have food. I made myself a charcuterie plate. During that tasting, no one cared what about the beer at all. They were really interested in what I was eating, and it just felt like I’d struck a chord. The next week, a few people asked me to make them a box and that was the birth of Graze Dat! I officially launched my little company in August 2020.”

Choto was originally born and raised in Zimbabwe, moved to the United States in 1991 to finish her studies, and soon found

herself in a career in education. While her platforms. A search for ‘charcuterie’ on time spent as an educator in K-12 schools Instagram yields nearly one million results, and at Johns Hopkins School of Education while on Facebook there are hundreds of sustained her, it was her passion for the culi- public and private groups dedicated to the nary arts that inspired her to make a career art form.” Choto currently has more than change, and New Orleans 3,700 followers of Graze would prove to be an excel- Dat! on Instagram, with lent place for that. the number growing with “I’ve always been a foodie. My earliest memories HOW TO ORDER every post. These “adult Lunchrevolve around food and family gatherings around Visit Grazedat.gethoneycart.com ables” appeal not only to the foodie appetite, but food. As a kid, my family lived on a farm, and my Delivery available up to 20 miles outside of 70117 zip code also the visual nature of social media with siblings and I were no displays of artfully sliced strangers to the process of growing food and fruit, vegetables, nuts, spreads, cold cuts rearing livestock. I really became interested and more. Plus, the charcuterie board can in high school where I chose culinary arts be easily customized and made to order as my elective, but that didn’t go anywhere for almost any occasion or diet, and are at the time because my parents wanted me delivery friendly and are just fun to eat. to come to college in the States to become a Graze Dat! offers a wide selection of biologist.” charcuterie sizes, from a picnic-for-two to

Choto’s culinary pivot is part of a boutique wedding receptions, and beyond. national meat-and-cheese board trend, Charcuterie can be arranged in the classic with charcuterie blowing up on social board format, in jars, boxes, or even in the media sites. According to a January shape of letters (think: wedding initials 2020 “Business Insider” article, “[T] or birthday honorees.) The options are hey’ve become a fixation on social media nearly endless, according to Choto.

Looking for a great gift or addition to your tabletop offerings this holiday season? Orders for Graze Dat can be made at Grazedat.gethoneycart.com. Delivery is available up to 20 miles outside of the 70117 ZIP code.

I really am a believer in the idea of people eating with their eyes first, and I feel like when food is presented in a way that makes one stop and look and wonder about what you’re eating, it means so much more.

Elizabeth Choto, Graze Dat! founder

“I try my very best to work with everyone,” she said. “I’ve loved the large group catering orders that I’ve had but have also loved creating individual boxes for people who are just jumping in to see what this is all about or who are just curious about some of the items I use on boards. I offer ‘jarcuterie’ and ‘cupcuterie’ (just a bite of meat, cheeses and accoutrements in a jar or cup), grazing boxes for one to eight, grazing platters for groups of up to 25, and grazing tables. Each option is completely customizable in terms of meats and cheeses. I also offer vegetarian and vegan options. My sweet and s’mores boards during the holiday season were such a hit that I will be offering them again this year.”

Prices range from $9 per “cupcuterie” to $50 for a medium grazing box, $70 for personalized monogram letters, $225 for a 2-foot, crowd-friendly grazing board, plus customizable pre-assembled or on-site assembled grazing tables for a variable price.

Graze Dat! is still a one-woman operation, with Choto looking to expand into a physical location with employees and delivery drivers in the short term. Culinary items for her charcuterie creations are sourced from all over the New Orleans area, with an emphasis on getting the freshest items as possible.

“I shop everywhere, from farmers markets to big box stores,” she said. “Occasionally, I’ll see what interesting items local purveyors might have and I’ve found some really cool items like pink pineapples, finger limes and Cape Gooseberries. St. James Cheese is also great for charcuterie and cheese. I’m not a cheese expert, but I’m told by someone in the know that they are the best cheese shop in the country, and I feel super lucky to have them right here in New Orleans.”

While the pandemic may have forced Choto, like so many others, to pivot from her original business plan to something completely different, that change has proven to be for the better so far, putting a positive spin on a challenging time.

“The upside is that the pandemic gave life to this operation,” she said. “I think after a whole lot of time being shut in during the lockdowns, it was handy for my customers to have a food delivery option that offered something different. The pandemic also pushed me into territories unknown. I honestly didn’t know if or where this would go and I’m super excited every single day that I get to do this because it’s really been one of the most fulfilling and creative experiences of my entire life.” n

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