For the Simms (Matthew, Boo and Sarah), it all started in a bar.
The idea to deliver beautifully arranged, artisanally sourced meats—like La Quercia Rossa Berkshire Prosciutto from Norwalk, IA—cheeses—like Cowgirl Creamery Mt. Tam Triple Cream from Peteluma—and tons of colorful, sweet, crunchy and fruity accoutrements on one board was scribbled on a napkin and agreed upon before they cleared the Simms cleared their tabs.
Now, Lady and Larder delivers three different meat and cheese boards straight to your door, pre-arranged for your convenience. Sarah Simms took some time to discuss this venture, the challenges she and the team face, and prosciutto’s innate diva qualities.
Can you give me the Lady and Larder origin story?
Sure! It all started last year at a bar in our hometown while we were home for the holidays. We (my brother, twin sister and I) had a couple of beers and shared our goals for the upcoming year. We talked a lot about the things we love and the things we’d like to do together in the future. By the time we left, we had doodled a big dream on a small napkin. Not long after that, we decided to make a go of it and a couple of months later we were in business. It was the simplest big decision we’d ever made.
Who exactly are the Lady and Larder? Where did this catchy name come from?
We wanted a name that had a lot of heart, was charming enough to remember and ultimately helped us tell our story. At the same time we wanted a name that would speak to what we offer, but not so specifically, that there wouldn’t be room for us to evolve from cheese and cured meats in the future. When we put it on paper, we had a real visceral reaction to Lady and Larder. It just felt right.
How big is the Lady and Larder team? Who does it comprise of?
We are 100 percent family operated. There is my brother Matthew, who is my right hand man, handles all operations and is in the trenches with me around the clock (building boards, sourcing product, working with customers, and spearheading our delivery program). Then there’s my twin sister Boo, who is our integrated marketing strategist and handles all creative direction, photography, packaging and graphic design. She’s so talented that I literally keep pinching myself over the fact that she’s on our team. Our dad has also been an incredible source of support; he is the smartest guy we know. He partakes in our weekly meetings and is our go to guy for advice and guidance on all things financial.
Then there’s me! I tend to be doing a bit of everything (usually all at once) but I try to focus on supporting and building relationships with our farmers and makers as well as continuing to oversee our product and brand development. That’s the official team but my husband gets a very honorable mention – we wouldn’t have been able to get through the last couple of months without him filling the gaps and assisting with all the little things that come up daily when you are running a new business, or any business, for that matter.
Do you guys and gals consider yourselves charcuterie trade disruptors? Who do you consider to be your niche clientele?
I wouldn’t call us disruptors, ultimately we have a passion for really good food and we wanted to find a way to share that with others outside of our immediate circles. Living in Los Angeles and working in the hospitality industry, we saw an opportunity to create something special and provide a much needed resource for our community. That said, we are hoping to appeal to a large variety of clientele, everyone from the host and hostess in your life to large-scale event and wedding planners. One of our first patrons really opened our eyes to a niche we hadn’t originally thought of.
Before we came along, she used to send flowers to loved ones and coworkers on special occasions and has since replaced flower delivery with Lady and Larder board delivery. The concept of gifting our boards has probably been the best surprise for us yet. We love getting to be a part of someone’s special day, those types of deliveries bring us the most joy.
One of three beautifully arranged Lady and Larder meat and cheese boards.
Where do you source the artisan products in your boards?
We source products from all over the United States – we currently work with Tomales Bay Foods, a handful of local purveyors and shop farm direct for most of our dried fruits and nuts. We utilize our local farmers markets 3-4 days per week for seasonal accoutrements. We love working directly with the families who are growing and making each product as it ensures that all of the profits are going directly back into their pockets.
The way the boards are designed, they almost look modular. Is there an artistic direction you follow when designing these boards?
We have specific portion guidelines for each size board. We cut and weigh the cheeses and slice the cured meats right before we start to build. From there we just start building – there’s true enjoyment in “painting” the boards with each item. Part of the fun is creating spontaneous relationships and balances between the shapes and colors and letting the product do the rest.
Prosciutto doesn’t like to be too structured- the lighter and airier the presentation – the better. Same goes for the placement of the nuts and dried fruits. The best advice I’ve ever received about culinary design is to always “play seriously”. We’ve adopted that motto. We keep it fun and do whatever inspires us while remaining true and dedicated to the integrity of the products.
At the moment, what’s the most difficult challenge you encounter day to day?
Our biggest challenge has been to figure out how to ship them! We have our delivery zone, which is basically the greater LA area, but we’d like to be able to reach our friends and family who live up north or out of state one day. But our dad always tells us, “The difficult we do immediately. The impossible takes a few minutes”.
What’s the first thing you reach for on a Lady and Larder board?
I think the best part about this question is that every person on our team would answer it differently. I tend to go for something textural, salty, and noncommittal first – like an olive or a couple pistachios. It’s nice to sort of ease into it all.
For more information or to order a meat and cheese board, visit Lady and Larde.
