A Utah ‘maven’ is making charcuterie platters that look as good as they taste

This article is excerpted from the Utah Eats newsletter, compiled by Kolbie Peterson, The Salt Lake Tribune’s food and drink reporter. To get the full newsletter in your inbox every Wednesday, become a subscriber by going to sltrib.com/newsletters.

Hello, Eaters!

Food should be as beautiful as it tastes, and no one understands that as well as Nicole Simper, the “culinary maven” of Maven Oak Creative.

Simper creates gorgeously delicious charcuterie platters featuring cured meats, cheeses, fruits, vegetables, dips and other accouterments. Scrolling through her Instagram will make you crave prosciutto.

I first heard about Simper’s work when I wrote in Utah Eats about a “back to school” pop-up that happened at Loki Coffee last weekend. Beside other Utah vendors, most of them having to do with food, Simper was selling “boujee Lunchables,” as the event post on Instagram described.

The charcuterie packs — perfect for one or two people — were just a sampling of her larger platters, which can feed 15 nibblers or more.

And these charcuterie platters are next level visually. Simper is a bona fide artist — she studied photography at the University of Utah — so she has a creative eye for arranging every slice of cheese and fruit just so.

She’s been in business for about five years. Before that, she said she worked in “every aspect of the food industry that there is,” but her favorite part was always the “art” of the plating process.

Simper started her platter venture after getting home from a backpacking trip to South America and facing the prospect of getting a job.

“The thought of writing a resumé was daunting,” she said. “I thought starting a business would be just the better option, which is hysterical to think about now.”

Simper said she made her first platter for her mom’s birthday. Her work with Maven Oak Creative, she said, “just kind of evolved into something quite grand and very over the top.”

If you’re interested in leveling up your charcuterie skills, Simper has started a new project called Tuesday Night Dinner, a two-week email series that “will help you take your meals and life to the next level,” the website says. At the end of the series, subscribers will get the opportunity to sign up for two online workshops: Mastering Knife Skills 1.0 and Art of Charcuterie Platters.

You can sign up for workshops, and order grazing tables as well as platters in multiple sizes for just about every occasion, by visiting MavenOakCreative.com.

Live deliciously,

Kolbie

Food News

• The Tree Room and Owl Bar at Sundance Mountain Resort (on Alpine Loop Road, about 15 miles northeast of Provo) have received recognition in USA Today’s 10Best Readers Poll, according to a news release. Voted as the No. 3 Hotel Restaurant, The Tree Room was founded in 1970 by Robert Redford, a year after he opened Sundance Resort. Its centerpiece is a real tree, and its menu blends “modern French techniques with American comfort,” the website says.

Voted as the No. 3 Hotel Bar in North America, Owl Bar was moved from Thermopolis, Wyoming — where the original was frequented by Butch Cassidy in the 1800s — to Sundance, and now offers cocktails and a seasonal food menu.

• Whether you love it or hate it, Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte is back for the season, according to a news release. Joining this drink on Starbucks’ menu is the Iced Apple Crisp Nondairy Cream Chai, which features the flavors of chai combined with oatmilk and topped with apple crisp nondairy cold foam, the release said.

Closings:

• SLC Eatery, at 1017 S. Main St. in Salt Lake City, is closing at the end of September, according to a post from the modern American restaurant on Instagram. I plan to talk to the owners for more information, including when the final day of service will be, so stay tuned.

Snack Pack of the Week

This is the little charcuterie pack I got from Maven Oak Creative at that pop-up at Loki Coffee — it made for prime nibbling during some Sunday night “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”

It included chunks of Seahive cheddar from Beehive Cheese, slices of manchego from Spain, prosciutto, local cantaloupe, local raspberries, almonds, olives, a package of water crackers, and a few pieces of Ritual’s The Après Chocolate bar.

I loved wrapping a hefty piece of that Seahive cheddar in a piece of prosciutto and snacking down. I also really liked the chocolate bar, which, according to Ritual’s website, is sparkling white wine infused chocolate with dried raspberries.

I thought the entire pack was well balanced, a perfect harmony of sweet, salty, tangy, fruity, briny, soft and crunchy. If this is just a taste of what Simper’s full platters are like, I can’t wait to sample one.