Words by Tejal Thakkar | Photos by Will Bowling

Family Recipes with Chilean Roots

The owners behind a local charcuterie company are bringing South American hospitality to Austin. Jackie Letelier has honed in on the art of gathering loved ones and the art of presentation, while satisfying the cravings of connection with meals that spill beyond lunch and dinnertime.

“Growing up in a gigantic family in Chile, we would have gatherings every weekend where we would make boards and just have these long lunches that would start at lunchtime, but then they would spill into dinnertime,” shares Jackie Letelier, cofounder of Casero.

Jackie smiles as she recalls, “I had access to amazing food growing up on a family farm in Chile.” That was no coincidence. These gatherings around food were so impactful on her upbringing that she decided to pursue culinary arts as a career, which led her to move back to Texas to attend culinary school. Rather than starting in restaurants like many of her peers, she first made a splash in Austin’s catering scene, later building a pâté company selling at farmers markets.

Since then, Jackie and her partner, Emily Stengel, have built an award-winning charcuterie company in the heart of East Austin and continue to create their pâtés and charcuterie boards as a form of bringing community together. Subsequently, Casero won the Good Food Awards for their pâté in 2022.

Combining her love of food with her love of art, Jackie emphasizes, “Building a charcuterie board…is kind of like painting. It’s art in a way; each board is never going to be the same as the one before. And I love that.” The boards feature seasonal produce and local products. She says that she has “been able to maintain awesome relationships with local food makers and artisans in the community and loves being able to showcase their products on the boards.

Given the sheer beauty and quality of care that go into each creation, the duo has managed to scale Casero from deliveries on Fridays, through rapid growth during the pandemic, to now having a place to call their own in Mueller. Loyal customers pick up their custom-made boards at Paggi Square where patrons can also grab a smaller, individually-packaged version of Casero’s boards at Bottega, satisfying that charcuterie craving any time of the day.

Contact:
2100 Robert Browning St.
caseroaustin.com