The Ladies (and Brother!) Behind Lady & Larder

Sarah Simms Hendrix and Boo Simms are identical twins who love to entertain. Raised in the hospitality industry, they, along with their brother, Matt, caught the family entrepreneur bug and created — as a sibling team — Lady & Larder, a Southern California-based company who makes (and delivers) the most beautiful handcrafted cheese, fruit, vegetable, and cured meat charcuterie boards you’ve ever seen.It all started in her early 20’s when Sarah had a tiny Santa Monica apartment where she’d throw parties for friends and family. Always a hostess, she’d routinely make her specialty: cheese and charcuterie boards.

“They were always the highlight!” remembers Boo. “It was so cool to watch people try new things and share their favorite pairing with the person next to them. The magic of cheese is real!”

With those mini successes in the back of her mind, Sarah went on to work as a sommelier and Food and Beverage Director at several luxury hotels before landing her dream private chef job where she worked for almost a decade. But it wasn’t until she started noticing a pattern in the emails she was receiving from clients and friends requesting her famed boards that she realized maybe there was an actual market for them.One evening in late 2015 while the siblings were sharing a few beers together they naturally started talking business. Why not bring these boards to the public? After a few napkin doodles they were officially sold on their new idea. It was time.Over the next 90 days Sarah, Boo, and Matt went all in and brought their individual skills to the (cutting) board. Utilizing Sarah’s boards, Matt’s incredible attention to detail (he handles all delivery logistics to this day), and Boo’s creative and artistic background (she’s the sole force behind Wylie West Creative and the Creative Director for Lazy Dog Restaurants) their vision was brought to life.They collected words for weeks and ripped the word “Larder” out of a magazine which they unanimously agreed upon. Once they had that locked in they added “Lady” to remind customers that there are real people behind the brand. “Lady & Larder is centered around creating human connection,” Boo explains. “It’s the most important thing to us.”This is obvious in the way the siblings work with one another, always prioritizing honesty. “We don’t sugarcoat things and we call each other out,” adds Boo. “But we feed off each other and ultimately never want to let each other down. It creates a work environment where we are constantly growing and learning -- both individually and as a team.”They’ve managed to bring this transparency to all parts of Lady & Larder. The team just celebrated their two year anniversary last month and have remained committed to using the finest American made cheeses and cured meats, as well as sourcing all their fruits and vegetables from small-batch producers who don't slack on standards when it comes to quality.“We work with farmers and makers who are so wildly passionate about what they do,” says Sarah. “You’ll find us scouring the Santa Monica Farmers Market a couple days per week to taste and handpick the best stuff we can get our hands on. We let Mother Nature and the seasons dictate our pairings for the most part, which guarantees everything tastes delicious.”Later this fall, the team has plans to take their online shop brick and mortar, which, if I’ve learned anything from the three siblings, is sure to make for some fun events — complete with quite a few of those legendary cheese boards.The magic of cheese is real, indeed!Lindsay DeLong is the Managing Editor of The Fullest. She is thoroughly impressed by all things cheese, but the fact that Sarah Simms Hendrix’s child’s first word was “cheese” definitely takes the (cheese)cake -- which, btw, they also sell.