Meet Instagram’s Vegan Charcuterie Queen
‘It is like coloring in a coloring book, but with food’
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Typical charcuterie boards showcase animal products, like meats and cheeses, but Kat Magsaysay of Cruelty Free Charcuterie is not interested in making those typical boards. Her charcuterie-dedicated Instagram page is full of boards that are colorful, original and, most importantly, vegan.
The self-proclaimed vegan charcuterie queen hopped on a lunchtime video call to talk about creativity, community and her favorite foods to add to a charcuterie board.
Tenderly: What inspired you to create Cruelty Free Charcuterie?
Kat Magsaysay: Before I even had the Instagram page, I actually created the first vegan cruelty free charcuterie cheese board for my friend Jasmine of Sweet Simple Vegan’s birthday. That’s when I came up with this idea and then I just kept creating them.
Finally, last December I was like let’s make this a whole thing and I made an Instagram page. My page has blown up on its own, I just want to create the boards and have fun with them.
How is working with food a creative outlet for you?
I saw so much fulfillment in making boards because I work digitally. Making boards gave me an outlet. It is like coloring in a coloring book, but with food. I got to be creative without having to look at a screen. It became a creative outlet for myself that also brought joy to people.
What’s your favorite part of the process of making a charcuterie board?
I love the process of finding what I can put on a board and finding what foods are in season or local gives me more of a challenge. Like, what I love about finding ingredients at the farmers market is that the vegetables are always different, they’re always fresh, they’re bright, they come in different colors. If you look at my Instagram, that’s really what my charcuterie boards show.
