Sophisticated Living Louisville Jan/Feb 2021

Page 68

ACROSS THE BOARD A pair of women-owned businesses bring charcuterie to the Commonwealth. Written by Bridget Williams Charcuterie is a French term first used in the 15th century to describe shops that sold products made from pork. While the concept is ancient, in the past 18 months, you might have noticed a growing number of beautifully styled charcuterie boards on your Instagram feed, part of the burgeoning genre of snack sculpture. Dedicated to this edible art form, a pair of women-owned businesses— Cultured in Louisville and Fête Boards in Lexington—have bravely opened shop amid the pandemic. CULTURED 1007 East Main Street in Louisville / culturedcheeseshop.com Photos courtesy of Cultured It’s a cruel twist of fate when the opening of your charcuterie-focused restaurant, a dining concept centered around sharing, coincides with a pandemic that requires keeping our distance from one another. Despite the hurdles, Jessica Mattingly, proprietress of Cultured, located in the Butchertown block development, continues to adapt and make it work. You could say that Jessica has a “cheesy” family history, rooted in the story of Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese, which was founded in 1998. In the mid-1970s, her grandfather Ken Mattingly, Sr., relocated his wife and seven children from Indianapolis to a 200-acre farm in Barren County, Kentucky to pursue his dream of becoming a dairy farmer. Just 19 at the time, his son Ken “Kenny,” Jr. followed in his father’s footsteps, putting in long, backbreaking hours on the farm. The family’s jump from dairy farmers to cheesemongers wasn’t an overnight transition, rather a long-haul commitment to a labor of love that continues its evolution to this day. As the cheese business was getting off of the ground, Jessica recalls her grandmother crisscrossing the Commonwealth, offering samples of their family’s wares to restaurateurs, patrons of farmer’s markets, and anyone who inquired about their mission. Growing up on a farm meant that Jessica’s childhood was defined by more work than play. Still, rather than bemoan the past, she credits it with instilling a strong work ethic that has carried her through present-day challenges. Cultured is the culmination of a dream that is eight years in the making. Jessica, who has a background in the beauty industry, had initially planned to start a Louisville outpost of Kenny’s, where patrons could watch the cheese making process. When the logistics proved too challenging, she pivoted to the idea of a charcuterie restaurant, leaving the certainty of corporate job at Aveda for a roller coaster ride as a restaurateur. “It’s my way of expanding the family business and putting my own spin on it,” she explained. Jessica relied on help from family and friends, particularly her sister Sarah, to convert the historic building into Cultured’s comfy confines. Walls were removed, and a spacious deck was added, the latter being a lifesaver when COVID restrictions forced dining to move outside. Jaclyn Journey of Journey and Jacobs Design Studio was tapped to put the finishing touches on the interior design.

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