Around the Sound: Valentines date idea

Looking for a Valentine’s date night idea but everything seems too cheesy? Urban Whey is showing you how to do cheesy, but in a gouda way!

For longtime friends Cristen, Dawn, and Erica, owning a shop like Urban Whey has been a dream years in the making.

“Who wouldn’t want to have a job where people are always happy, so we were like, ‘Can we make this into a business?”

From operating out of a commercial kitchen to navigating the challenges business owners faced during COVID-19, their storefront in Mill Creek is now thriving.

“It’s a dream come true for us. To be able to have a space to welcome our customers in as they come in, and for them to get a feel of who we are as friends, as a business, it’s really special.”

Valentines Day is a day traditionally known for flowers and chocolate, but why not change things up a bit? Let brie, prosciutto, and salami make your loved one’s day this year. Urban Whey is hosting a Charcuterie 101 workshop this Saturday as an unconventional, yet unique, Valentine’s date night idea.

“They’re going to have a heart-shaped platter in front of them that they’re going to put together; we provide all the ingredients. Everything will be put together in a nice fashion and we stand in front and teach and walk through with some special things like salami roses, different techniques of things.”

That class just sold out this week, but no worries! Urban Whey hosts classes once a month and Cristen, Dawn, and Erica still shared some tips on how you can create the Valentine’s-themed charcuterie at home.

It’s best to precut your cheese and fruits, and work your way from the outer corners in. For texture, you can stack cheese on top of each other and then fill in the spaces with nuts and fruits.

Colors and making your board look as vibrant as possible is key. A lot of people eat with their eyes first, so to impress your loved one, try not to line up the same colors by each other and instead break it up with contrasting colors. When your board is almost complete, add Valentines-themed goodies to show you’re really paying attention to detail.

So the next time you head to the store, think twice before grabbing the flowers and chocolate and head to the meat and cheese aisle instead. You’ll be sure to impress your charcutie with charcuterie!

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