Meet Ashleigh McGhee: Head Cheese Lover

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

Hi Ashleigh, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I’ve always had a love for cheese and charcuterie my entire life! I’m a very creative and visual person and being an accountant full time just wasn’t filling the creative bucket for me. That’s when I sat down and thought about what I really enjoyed doing in my free time and that was make charcuterie boards for friends and family. So one day in my tiny cube alongside the rest of Corporate America I started planning and thinking through what I needed to start a small business. From there, The Rustic Board was born and it’s been an amazing journey ever since!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I believe that what sets myself and The Rustic Board apart from others and also what I teach in all of our board classes is, “It’s all about the colors.” All of our boards use ingredients that aren’t only fresh and local but also that have very vibrant colors. The way these ingredients are placed and positioned on our boards is what I believe sets us apart. Doing this was not something that came easy and was definitely a skill I had to learn with time which is why I teach so many charcuterie board classes. I want people to know that you don’t have to be a food artist to make a gorgeous charcuterie board. At The Rustic Board, we want our boards to tell the story and we do this by creating very vibrant and colorful boards!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I believe North Texas has a lot of hidden gems and I think the people that know about them don’t talk much about them because they want to keep the small town charm. I would start by exploring the town squares around here such as McKinney town square where you can have some of the best wine and pizza around at places like Landon Winery and Cadillac Pizza. I would then travel to Prosper where the Famous in Oregon shop is located. Here we could explore all of the amazing tropical house plants and learn a bit about them that we might not of known about before. While there, we could check out Inappropriate Trucker Hats. This is where we would get our laughs in for the day. Uncle Bekah, the owner of Inappropriate Trucker Hats, is absolutely hilarious and her hats are as well. Lastly I would travel over to Downtown Celina. Celina has done an amazing job of bringing fresh, small businesses to their square. We grab a drink at The Little Wooden Penguin and maybe grab a bite at Tender BBQ. They also have amazing shopping destinations there such as Annie Jacks, Buff City Soap, and Hey Sugar!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I know this sounds cliché but I would have to thank my amazing husband. Before I started The Rustic Board I would always come home from my full time accounting job and complain that I just wasn’t feeling like I was using my creative mind and visual skills like I should be. I felt like I was wasting my life away. I guess he was sick of the complaining because he said, “Then do something about it!” The Rustic Board has been such an escape for me and with his support we’ve been able to build it into what it is today and for that I’m forever thankful!

Website: www.therusticboard.com
Instagram: @therusticboard
Facebook: @therusticboardtx