We first started with charcuterie when we were in the states for a trip in the summer of 2020 and saw charcuterie platters everywhere! Everyone was going crazy over charcuterie (as were we, of course) and finding any excuse to order.
We were actually not new at all to the charcuterie game though. Growing up, whenever we went on family vacations, we always bought bags of beef jerky as a treat which we went crazy for! One Chanukah my brothers got a Forty dollar, plastic dehydrator from bed bath and beyond. Then we began making beef jerky ALL THE TIME. We became addicted and would make it for any family trip but also for any fun night or event.
When Yishai and I got engaged, I made him some beef jerky (not knowing that we'd eventually be elbow deep in beef jerky a few short years later) and that was it. That was the first time Yishai tasted simple home-made jerky that was good.
We've worked long and hard on perfecting our jerky... its eons away from when we started just over a year ago. We've read books and tons of articles, watched videos and tested tons of methods. We are constantly looking to improve: cut waste, improve texture, add flavor and all without adding preservatives.
Just two weeks ago we were in the states for a family simcha (Thank You Hashem) and we tasted A LOT of different charcuterie. We were expecting to be blown away by the American charcuterie, both because its American vs. Israeli meat which is already a huge difference, and also because, come on, it's America- there is sooo much more competition, it must be amazing! We were shocked at what we tasted. While some of it was definitely yummy, we were missing out beef jerky. Each one had different flaws, whether it be a very raw like chewy texture or that it was difficult to taste the flavoring because it was so weak.
And most of all, the prices. We pride ourselves on high quality and high value product. We work really hard to price our meat at a good price point, but we are constantly trying to adjust it to make it perfect, in line with competition and reasonable to the customer. We saw prices for lots of different business's boards and not only was ours right on par, our prices seemed to even be better. Wow! We were not expecting that.
In short, it was a really great and informative trip for us. We learned a lot about the charcuterie market and we were also emboldened and encouraged in our own work. That feels pretty great, not gonna lie!