Being in lockdown pushed a lot of people to adopt new hobbies they would never have considered before, like baking frog bread and learning to roller skate. A new hobby can be a really fun way to pass the time and you never know what will catch on. Oddly, this is still true almost a year later, but now the weird new hobbies are holiday-themed.
People are now making “charcuterie chalets” instead of a traditional gingerbread house—and they look pretty amazing.
Insider seems pretty angry about the charcuteries chalets saying people “need to stop.” But I think that’s a bit misguided: charcuterie plates have been growing in popularity for some time. They’ve gotten bigger and bigger.
People cover their entire tables in butchers’ paper and make elaborate looking feasts and post the results on Instagram. With some bread and cheese, they make a banquet:
It was really only a matter of time before the charcuterie took on a third dimension and started growing upwards. Plus, COVID-19 means that most responsible people aren’t inviting over enough folks to finish off a dining room table’s worth of cheese.
With a charcuterie chalet you can be just as creative without wasting good salami:
Obviously, a charcuterie chalet does not have the longevity of a gingerbread house. The whole point of the gingerbread house is that you can set it and forget it. Unless some squirrels get in, that thing will last months.
A charcuterie chalet seems like something you make, photograph, and eat as quickly as possible. I like eating things as quickly as possible!
Though this post from a specialty food store implies this is more of a permanent display item:
Hey, if you’ve got the refrigerator space, why not?
A very savory holiday season to all!