10 S  By Mallory Gleich he word charcuterie is of 15th-century French origin, when people used every last bit of meat – preserved and cured it – and formed it into a sausage or dry-aged meat. Throw some bread, cheese, nuts and dried and fresh fruit on the plate, et voilà , cheese and crackers is elevated to a new level! Arcadia Catering Company (ACC), run by local Chef Christopher Collins and his Common Ground Culinary group, opened in 2019. From the start, ACC Ideas for making your perfect charcuterie board Charcuterie , anyone ? T 10 MEATS Prosciutto, capocollo, salami, chorizo, sopressata, speck CHEESES Brie, bleu cheese, gouda, goat cheese, burrata FRUITS Grapes, berries, figs, dates, gooseberries, cherry tomatoes NUTS (Salted or smoked) almonds, cashews, pistachios VEGGIES Gherkins, heirloom carrots, bell peppers, carnival cauliflower, broccolini, radishes, snap peas BREADS Mixed crackers, like water crackers, pita chips/crackers, fig and balsamic crisps, crostini “Dad’s Grocery Bag” board by ACC offered charcuterie boards – in fact, Chef Collins said the boards were the catalyst for opening the company. “There’s been some version of cured meats and aged cheeses going back centuries, but I think this type of gathering together and sharing food has regained popularity in the last five to 10 years,” Collins said. “They are visually beautiful, easy to eat, offer a variety of foods for people to try, and help give a sense of community and shared experience.” ACC calls one of its charcuterie boards ‘Dad’s Grocery Bag’ because, as a small boy, Collins would wait for his dad to get home from work, knowing he would be carrying a bag filled with bread, meats and cheeses. “We would sit at the counter eating as he told me about his day. This has remained one of my fondest memories, and when we opened Grassroots, we had a smaller version of this on our menu. Its popularity over the years helped us start Arcadia Catering Company,” Collins said. Any well-oiled, hardwood cutting board is best for setting up charcuterie, and Collins said that there is a certain Feng Shui to create a beautiful and balanced board. “Like all food in this world, I think there’s a place for everything.”

The #2 UNDERTOW Ingredients Instructions Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker. Shake with draft ice and pour into Collins glass. Top with crushed ice and garnish with a dehydrated orange slice. • 2 basil leaves • 8 dashes of Allspice Dram • 2 dashes Angostura Bitters • 0.75 oz. Coco Lopez • 0.75 oz. orange juice • 0.75 oz. lemon juice • 1.5 oz. pineapple juice Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker. Shake with draft ice and pour into Collins glass. Top with crushed ice and garnish with a dehydrated No. 18 PLATFORM 18 Ingredients Instructions Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker. Shake with draft ice. Pour into a snif- ter glass, top with crushed ice. Garnish with a fresh slice of guava, dehydrat- ed dragon fruit and mint. • 2 dashes Tonka Bean Tincture • 0.75 oz. lime juice • 0.50 oz. strawberry juice • 1 oz. guava leaf-infused acacia honey • 0.50 oz. Giffard Bitter Syrup • 2 oz. Seedlip Grove 42 Mocktails, one of the hottest trends on the bar scene P Sip this ! ! By Cody Kennedy ossibly the most well-known in the world of nonalcoholic beverages, the Shirley Temple has been around for decades – though there are conflicting stories as to how the drink came about. Nevertheless, the fizzy, sweet soda (typically made with ginger ale and grenadine, served with a maraschino cherry) kicked off a trend that was frequently called “Kiddie Cocktails” because they were usually served to children. Now they are called mocktails, and they are complex and carefully crafted – and big business. Jason Asher is the vice president of beverage and a partner in Barter and Shake, a “cocktail entertainment” company that houses Grey Hen Rx, Platform 18 and Undertow inside the Century Grand building in Arcadia. His primary job deals in ideation and drink development, something he’s been doing for more than two decades. “I think the concept of nonalcoholic drinks is old. But the attempt to make the drinks an experience is a lot more recent,” Jason said. “The pandemic really fueled the nonalcoholic world. Folks found themselves looking for options with low or no alcohol so they could enjoy themselves without feeling left out.” This idea was echoed by Jason’s wife, Kailee, who brought about the idea of a mocktail program within Barter and Shake when she was pregnant with their first child. “I found that friends stopped inviting me to go out, and I wasn’t going out because there weren’t many drink options. I wanted to socialize, so I was visiting Undertow while Jason was working, and I asked the bartender to create something with the bar’s ingredients without alcohol,” Kailee said. Their mocktail program, put into place around five years ago, uses ingredients that resemble ones used in alcoholic beverages. “For example, Jamaican rum – we use tea, but it’s a combination of ingredients that unveil a ‘tea-like’ funkiness. Everything is done with the classic idea in mind,” Jason said. “We use tea as the base, but we intensify it by five times to make it textural, tannic and flavorful. For something like Jamaican rum, we use Pu-Erh, which is a fermented black tea.” His inspiration comes from flavors and how they work together. Jason tries to find an ingredient that will work as a hook. “If there’s a drink with ingredients people might not know, like Alchermes [a red aperitif with spices in it], we might use strawberry as the hook,” Jason said. Barter and Shake’s concepts craft all of their ingredients in- house, but folks can find mocktail accompaniments in places like Total Wine or on Amazon – Jason says they’re readily available since there’s no alcohol. He also mentioned Seedlip, a brand of nonalcoholic “mixers” that can be used in place of spirits. The menus at Barter and Shake’s concepts come out once a year. There are nine mocktails within Platform 18, Grey Hen Rx and Undertow. “The hospitality industry is about making guests feel at home, or making them feel welcome into a ‘home,’ and there was a lack of inclusion with people who don’t drink – for whatever reason,” Kailee said. “We are here to provide that experience for everyone.” Some other nearby Valley spots that offer special mocktails include Bitter & Twisted, Little Rituals, Highball, 36 Below, The Gladly and Garden Bar. Or, ask your bartender – they might have something mocked up that isn’t on the menu. orange slice. Egreen PLATFORM 18 Ingredients • 10 mint leaves • 2 dashes Pennyroyal Tincture • 1 oz. lime & yuzu juice blend (3:1) • 1 oz. simple syrup (1:1) • 2 oz. Seedlip Garden 108 Herbal NA Distillate Instructions Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker, including mint leaves. Shake with draft ice and pour into a Collins glass, top with crushed ice. Float Peychaud’s Bitters on top of the cocktail. Garnish with fresh mint sprig and grated star anise. Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker. Shake with draft ice. Pour into a snif- ter glass, top with crushed ice. Garnish with a fresh slice of guava, dehydrat- • 1 oz. guava leaf-infused acacia honey ard Bitter Syrup