Planning a holiday party at home? SLO County woman’s charcuterie makes meals ‘so delicious’
Former Cambria resident Betsy Plascencia knows that having plenty of good food on hand makes holiday gatherings feel more festive.
That’s why in September, the 29-year-old Paso Robles woman launched her solo business venture, Stellar Cellar Boards, which provides gourmet charcuterie platters to discerning hosts and hostesses.
“I like to keep them pretty well packed,” she said of her trays, “with cheese, meats, seasonal fruit, crackers, honey and two different kinds of jams.”
Plascencia’s ultimate goal is to source all of her supplies locally and get a partnership with a winery.
Cambria native started charcuterie business during pandemic
Plascencia, who spent most of her life in Cambria and graduated from Coast Union High School in 2009, more or less grew up in the restaurant business.
Her father, Manuel Plascencia, was the longtime manager at El Chorlito Mexican Restaurant in San Simeon, she said, before opening his own business, Manny’s Pizza in San Miguel.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Betsy Plascencia said, “I was always the one who would bring a charcuterie plate,” and she has access to a lot of cheeses through her dad’s business.
Betsy Plascencia said her day job as a nutrition educator, with an emphasis on low-income schools, has been severely curtailed due to the new coronavirus.
“I’ve been working from home since March,” she said, but for her own mental health and motivation, “I needed something else to fill my time.”
In September, she made a few sample charcuterie boards and posted the photos on Facebook and Instagram.
People read the posts and shared them, over and over, she said. By November, she was “completely swamped,” having to limit weekend orders to those she could fill and deliver herself.
“I hate telling people no, but I’m a one-woman show,” she said. “So, I’m telling them to get their orders in early.”
While “it’s hard being a business owner, especially now,” Plascencia said, all that time, money and effort invested is counterbalanced nicely by the rave reviews she’s been getting from her customers.
Undersheriff Jim Voge received a Stellar Cellar platter as a gift. “We had the entire box for dinner, along with a glass of Dauo wine! It was so delicious,” his wife, Ramona Voge, said.
She said the box included “red pepper jelly, fig jam and some kind of honey sauce, which complimented the cheeses and fruits she used — so good!”
Placscencia’s original assortments were arranged on wood boards, in keeping with the business name, and that’s what she hopes to resume doing in the future if she can find a good vendor for them. But as a solo start-up business, getting each board returned was an often unsuccessful chore .
For now, the orders are delivered on scrupulously sterilized vintage platters that she finds at thrift shops and tag sales. The customers can keep the trays, which alleviates any return visit.
Stellar Cellar’s charcuterie prices range from $40 for a platter for two to $130 to serve eight to 10 people.
Plascencia also does mini platters and to-go boxes. Just add wine or another beverage to a board, and they can become gourmet picnics.
To order, contact Stellar Cellar on Facebook and Instagram, or email to stellarcellarboards@gmail.com..”
