Meet the Charcuterie Chic - Lindsey Smith

I’m originally from California, right outside of San Francisco. I went to the University of California Santa Barbara and got my bachelor’s degree in Psychology and then I went to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo where I got my master’s degree in Clinical Psychology. I spent 3,000 hours as an intern and became a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. I worked for SLO County treating mental health and substance use disorders. I was the lead clinician for Adult Drug Court and also trained law enforcement about safe interactions with those suffering from psychotic episodes or those who were under the influence. One of my favorite things to do was couples therapy and clients really benefited from it.

I met my husband right after I graduated from Grad School. He is an Army Veteran and now a Government contractor. We got married on our third anniversary, and one month later he told me he took a job in North Carolina. We were moving. I did not want to move to Fayetteville. We lived blocks from the beach, all my friends and family were in California, and I had an amazing career that I invested a lot of time in school for and worked really hard to be successful in. But we had just gotten married, and I didn’t want to be newlyweds that lived 3,000 miles apart. So a month later we packed up all our stuff, said goodbye to all our friends and family, and drove 3,000 miles across the country with our two dogs and a trailer. 

I hated it here at first! I couldn’t get my professional license, I didn’t know anybody, it was super humid, and there was no In-n-Out. And why on earth had this place renamed Carl’s Jr to Hardee’s? I was miserable and I contemplated moving back. Then I woke up one day and realized I needed to stop feeling sorry for myself and do something about my situation. I joined a gym, met my neighbors, made friends with some amazing women, and started finding things to like here instead of just complaining about everything I didn’t like. 

I love to cook. And I’m a decent baker, too. But my favorite thing has always been beautiful charcuterie boards. To my surprise there weren’t any being offered around here. So I made my own. I always loved to entertain and I’m a total grazer, so these came naturally to me. My friends and neighbors started asking me to make them for their parties as well. My best friend suggested I make a business out of this, but I knew nothing about running a business so I delayed for quite some time. One day my husband and I had a talk about our finances, since I hadn’t been working for months, and I knew I needed to start earning some income to help support my family. So even though I wasn’t sure if this would be successful here, I took the leap and started The Charcuterie Chic in January 2020. 

I was afraid Fayetteville wasn’t the right market for something so Boujee, but I was wrong! Word got out and business took off. During Covid, I primarily made to-go boxes (I like to call them Date Night in a Box, just add wine!). Since things have reopened, I got back to doing traditional boards, grazing tables, and offering public and private workshops all over the Triangle. The workshops keep selling out because they're so much fun! I’ve started collaborating with a bunch of really amazing local small businesses and fellow military spouses or veteran owned businesses. You can find their products on my boards (and the boards themselves!) and they are listed on the local collaborations tab! My business has gotten to the point that I need a website, not just social media-- so welcome! Please continue to follow me on Instagram and Facebook but order inquiries and all the information you need is now located on here! 

-Lindsey Smith, The Charcuterie Chic