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'Grace and Gouda.' How a Navy veteran turned charcuterie trend into a Beaufort business

Island Packet - 5/11/2021

May 10—Jennifer Ruiz didn't like cheese until she was 22 years old.

Now, she can list dozens of types and describe their flavors, textures and the wine or cracker they pair best with.

For the past six months, she's been operating her own charcuterie board and grazing table business.

It started as a hobby she loved sharing with friends and family during small gatherings at home. Then one day while she and her friend Shelby Stark were walking with their daughters on the Spanish Moss Trail, the two committed to turn what they loved into a career.

"I'd seen other people do it but hadn't believed that I could," Ruiz said.

Originally from Florida, Ruiz served in the U.S. Navy for eight years. Military service took her to California, where she'd fall in love with her husband, Jonathan, and they'd start their family. In April 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in South Carolina, the couple and their toddler-aged daughter, Talia, moved to Beaufort County so Jonathan could serve as a drill instructor on U.S. Marine Corp Recruiting Depot Parris Island.

So as the friends, both military spouses, started their business, they stayed in their comfort zone and started by selling cheeseboards and baked goods to other military families.

"We had such a great response, and everyone loved what we were doing," Ruiz said. "I didn't know people would like cheese as much as I did."

In November, Ruiz officially founded Grace and Gouda — combining her daughter's middle name and a favorite cheese — and Stark now has her home-based bakery, Buns by the Beach. The two still collaborate sometimes.

Ruiz's cheese boards have been served throughout Beaufort County and a few places elsewhere in the state.

"I love how excited people get when they see their board in person and say, 'It's even prettier than Instagram," Ruiz said with a laugh.

No two boards are the same, making it easy to customize for customers' preferences. Each one has meat, cheese, and a variety of fruit, nuts, crackers and other treats with sizes ranging between a mini board ($32) to a party platter that feeds 12 ($140) or even larger "grazing table."

Themed boards are available, like a recent Luau-inspired one for a birthday party or for holidays, which usually sell out pre-orders. Starting next month, Grace and Gouda will launch charcuterie subscription boxes where customers can sign up to order a board every month. Ruiz said more details will be revealed soon on the business' social media accounts.

Ruiz is a one-woman show. She said it can be hard to do it all sometimes, but somewhere among the salami rivers, assortments of cheeses, and fresh-cut fruits, she's found happiness that she shares with others.

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