Ending Fall “Boardom”

19 Vegan Fare & 90’s Flare

Ending fall “Boardom” with The Board Loon

By Corinne Stremmel

Meats and cheese are having their moment.

In the past few years, it’s been hard to avoid elaborately curated charcuterie boards popping up on one’s social media feed.

Charcuterie isn’t anything new. It’s a French term meaning “flesh” (chair) and “cooked” (cuit) that dates back to ancient Rome. But if you’ve been on social media lately, you might know that charcuterie is having its own renaissance.

Savvy, cheese-oriented entrepreneurs like White Bear Lake native, Kelsey Bassett, have latched onto the trend.

Bassett a.k.a. “The Board Loon” has a growingly familiar experience launching her business around the time of the pandemic.

“I really think the evolution took off because of COVID, ” Bassett said on her transition from casual charcuterie marker to full-on salami folding guru.

Bassett first started making boards in 2015 while she was leasing apartments in Woodbury. She was in charge of various events at the apartments and began making the boards for her residents.

She had enough talent for food styling that folks began encouraging her to start selling the boards, but 2020 was really the year her business took off in an unexpected way.

“It was all about timing for me. I didn’t expect the business to blow up like it did,” Bassett said. “People were on their phones more so people were more intrigued by [charcuterie].”

While more folks were stuck inside scrolling during early pandemic days, they were seeing other bored people aesthetically placing meats and cheeses to be posted online.

Bassett saw there was a demand to copy what people saw on Instagram, so she stopped selling her boards and pivoted to teaching online classes full of tips and tricks to craft an Insta-worthy board.

Cut to today and Bassett has a loyal following of 100k followers on Instagram.

“I once had someone from New York who was visiting Minneapolis and their one bucket list item was to take one of my classes, just because they followed me on Instagram.”

Bassett now teaches online and in-person classes at wineries and breweries in eastern Minnesota.

Attending one of Bassett’s classes feels a bit like going back to grade school art class, with Bassett as the highly skilled teacher, showing her students how to work with colors, shapes and textures.

She makes it easy for beginners to put together a professionallooking board while throwing in tips and tricks for her students to recreate a beautiful board at home. And Bassett is kind enough to add a few more ingredients than necessary for students to nibble on cheeses and candied nuts during class.

A board from Bassett’s class feeds about two to five “or could be dinner for one, depending on how hungry you are,” Bassett noted.

Students learn the essentials of anchoring their board with dishes of nuts and cornichons and techniques like using the rule of three to balance out different colors on the board.

“I like to use cheese from three different milk sources,” Bassett adds.

Manchego from sheep’s milk, Brie from a cow and Chevre from a goat add a bit of complexity to the board that Instagram scrollers may not know until taking Bassett’s class. Learning the proper way to fold salami (seriously) is a staple in her class.

“The board must have meat on it for it to technically be a charcuterie board,” she adds.

Carefully guided by Bassett, her students come out of class with some new food styling knowledge and a gorgeous charcuterie board fit for holidays and dinner parties.

“I’m helping them learn a lifelong skill,” Bassett said, a sentiment that fits with The Board Loon’s goal to teach folks to be the “hostess with the mostess.”

“I love to see people’s expressions when they’re like ‘I did that.’”

Classes are open to people of all ages and they can sign up on Bassett’s website.

“I’ve been surprised with how receptive people are,” Bassett said.

Her classes have been known to sell out within hours of going online.

And with her teaching skills and some food incentives, Bassett makes it easy for anyone to snap a cute photo of their board and hop on this trend.

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For 50 years, Associated Eye Care has been a leading provider of quality eye care in Eastern Minnesota and Western Wisconsin.

With locations in Stillwater, Woodbury and Hugo, Minnesota and New Richmond and Hudson, Wisconsin, Associated Eye Care serves patients of all ages.

Associated Eye Care was incorporated in 1972 and has always made a primary goal of putting its patients first.

“Associated Eye Care is owned by the doctors that you see when you come in for a visit.” Dr. Gary S. Schwartz, president of Associated Eye Care said. “The doctors who are treating you are also the ones making the business decisions, like where to open new offices, and what is the best equipment to purchase to ensure our patients receive not only the best results but also the best experience”

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To continue its focus on a superior patient experience, Associated Eye Care is moving into three new offices in Lino Lakes, Minnesota, and New Richmond and Hudson, Wisconsin in the first quarter of 2023. The new Hudson office will be in a three-story multispecialty medical building currently being built by Hudson Physicians. “Because this building will have a large ambulatory surgery center, we will be able to provide surgical services to our

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That’s something knows how rewarding it is to have positive, long-term relationships we’re always striving with his patients. “Half of the to improve.’ doctors at Associated Eye Care have been there for over ten years, and a handful of us have been there for Gary S. Schwartz more than 25. This type of provider

President of Associated Eye Care consistency has led to some very strong doctor-patient relationships that make what we do rewarding for both doctors and patients.” A doctor-owned business model that focuses on the patient experience has differentiated Associated Eye Care from other eye care providers for the last 50 years. They have a vision for the future to keep excellent eye care in the community for years to come.

1972–2022 1972–2022 Celebrating 50 years of eye care to the Twin Cities and Western Wisconsin 1972–2022 Celebrating 50 years of eye care to the Twin Cities Celebrating 50 years of eye care to the Twin Cities and Western Wisconsin and Western Wisconsin

Laura Capelle, OD, FAAOLaura Capelle, OD, FAAO Alan Downie, MD Alan Downie, MD Laura Capelle, OD, FAAO Alan Downie, MD Ryan Fedor, OD Ryan Fedor, OD Ryan Fedor, OD Adam Goddard, DO Adam Goddard, DO

Adam Goddard, DO

Ann Hickson, ODAnn Hickson, OD

Ann Hickson, OD Jacob Lang, OD, FAAOJacob Lang, OD, FAAO Jacob Lang, OD, FAAO Sean LaVallie, ODSean LaVallie, OD Sean LaVallie, OD

Susan Schloff, MD Gary Schwartz, MD, MHA

Susan Schloff, MD Susan Schloff, MD

Gary Schwartz, MD, MHA Gary Schwartz, MD, MHA

Brian Tienor, MD Brian Tienor, MD Brian Tienor, MD

Jeffrey Lynch, MD, MPHJeffrey Lynch, MD, MPH Jeffrey Lynch, MD, MPH

Jesse Vislisel, MD Jesse Vislisel, MD Jesse Vislisel, MD

Nicole Harris, ODNicole Harris, OD

Nicole Harris, OD

David Park, MD David Park, MD David Park, MD

Charlie Wu, MD, MSBA Charlie Wu, MD, MSBA

Charlie Wu, MD, MSBA

2022

of the Press

The Citizen

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Visit our website or call to make an appointment. www.associatedeyecare.com | 651-275-3000 Visit our website or call to make an appointment. www.associatedeyecare.com | 651.275.3000 Stillwater Hugo Woodbury New Richmond Hudson Amery Baldwin Affiliated Clinics In: presspubs.com/savour 17www.associatedeyecare.com | 651.275.3000Stillwater Hugo Woodbury New Richmond Hudson Amery Baldwin Affiliated Clinics In: Visit our website or call to make an appointment. www.associatedeyecare.com | 651.275.3000

Ending Fall “Boardom”

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19 Vegan Fare & 90’s Flare