Meet Alicia Duncan | The Big Cheese of Big D

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alicia Duncan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alicia, how did you come up with the idea for your business?
The Board Lady was born from being ‘Covid’ bored. I was on the Lakewood Ladies facebook page one night & saw a woman post about her friends new business. I looked at it & thought to myself “I can do better than that”. I had a birthday party the weekend before the world shut down & my whole dining room table was a giant ‘grazing board’. So literally that night, The Board Lady was born. I started researching names, websites, etc. The only other Board Lady was a lady in California that makes surf boards. Eventually I’d love to try & meet her & make a board on one one of her boards.

I have always loved entertaining, throwing parties & making beautiful food. And this was right up my alley to be creative & always making something fun & different.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

I started this lil cheese biz right in the middle of covid & coming out of lockdown. It was seemingly easy for me. And I think mostly because of having such a big friend base. Word of mouth spread quickly for me!! Prior to covid, I worked for a lady who owned several bars & restaurants in the DFW area. I was her right hand man & did everything to keep the businesses running smoothly. I also hosted a biweekly children’s event called Disco Kids in one of her establishments. When Covid happened I had to rethink my whole life! All of her businesses closed & I didn’t want to be in a room of ‘germs’ & kids. I had to figure out “what’s next”. And apparently I jumped on this cheese bandwagon at the right time!! It seemed like “charcuterie” businesses were popping up left & right. But I knew. I was doing something big when the numbers came in… From the time I started in October of 2020 til the end of December 2020 I had exceeded over 10k in sales. And by February of the following year, I had exceeded that. That was all reason I needed to do better & be better.

Since I started this business, I have learned so much about cheese. I’ve learned a lot about charcuterie, what it is & what it means. I’ve taught myself how to teach others fun cheese things & facts. I’ve met so must interesting people, met many of my neighbors & met some of my best friends.

From my bio on my website:
The Board Lady was created by Alicia Duncan, who, after years of hosting events and parties at home for her family and friends, was encouraged to start up her own home-based business and share her catering skills with the world. And that’s how The Board Lady was born.

Alicia’s mantra, “Creating beautiful food art and fresh grazing boards for all occasions,” stems from her passion for making people happy through food and presenting it on a beautifully styled table. The Board Lady will strive to design your boards to suit your taste, budget, and style with expert coordination. Her multicultural heritage and experience in party preparation and cooking has influenced the way she prepares and presents an abundance of food for everyone to share.

Our commitment for locally and internationally sourced cheeses, meats & produce with the freshest ingredients used, means that you can count on receiving delicious tasting food, every time.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Oh man, Dallas has so much to offer. Funny thing is my best friend did visit a few weeks ago… and mostly she just wanted to eat good food & hang with me. So we shopped at a few of my favorite local markets, Jimmy’s & The Mozzarella Company. Hit up Northpark & Eataly for some yummy things & I made us a board one day to go hang at White Rock Lake. I made a board to go sit poolside with her mom at the hotel. And we tried a few of my favorite spots to eat (and drink!!), Beto & Sons & The Mexican.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Shoutout to my son, man, family & friends for always having my back & supporting me on all my crazy artistic journeys. Without my amazing friends, this would not have been possible. It’s because of all of their love & support, I’ve never had to pay for advertising & my business spread so fast, through word of mouth.

Website: https://TheBoardLadyDFW.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_board_lady?igsh=MWtzcHAwMXVicG9zOQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

Facebook: TheBoardLadyDFW

Yelp: TheBoardLadyDFW

Image Credits
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