Charcuteria boards remain one of the most reliable dishes for early revenue in dining settings.

They tend to be ordered while guests are still reviewing the main menu making it a strategic tool for restaurants. When the board is built with planned contrast in taste and texture, it gives guests something to talk about, it slows the pace in a good way, and it increases the chance of a wine upsell before anyone has committed to a main course.

This matters now more than ever because labour is tight, covers are mixed, and kitchens need starters that are low friction with high value. A shared board meets those needs. It is fast to assemble, repeatable across shifts, and does not rely on skilled labour. It lets chefs use a wider mix of products in smaller increments which reduces trim waste and improves control of yield.

Rovagnati sits in our November specials range because it gives chefs genuine range from one supplier line. The practical benefit is that when you select products with clearly different roles, each cut on the board has a job to do.

This makes portioning cleaner, it makes the board easier to explain at the pass, and it keeps your customers interested without adding pressure on the line. Where a product carries protected status it also helps your team talk about provenance with confidence. Prosciutto di Parma 24 month is PDO, Mortadella with Bronte pistachio includes a DOP ingredient, and Speck from Alto Adige is IGP when specified on the label. These markers are useful on menu print and order screens because they set clear expectations on quality and origin.

A straightforward way to approach this is to pick one product for each of the key roles rather than choosing several items that sit in the same space. For example:

• Gran Biscotto provides a gentle cooked starting point
• Bresaola Gran Ginestra gives you a lean beef moment to break up the richer items
• Speck brings a smoke note that changes pace
• Salame Milano or Coppa Parma give you the fuller aromatic depth that fat supports
• Parma Addobbo Deboned 24 month delivers a more mature character from slower ageing
• Mortadella Pistacchio adds a clear aromatic shift
• Cotto Arrosto Rustico brings the roasted line that suits colder season menus

If you are listing protected origin items, name them clearly. Writing Prosciutto di Parma PDO on the menu or POS helps justify portion size and price, and gives servers a simple talking point that does not require extra training.

Working this way stops the board becoming three similar cured pork items in a row. It gives your team a simple structure that translates into predictable portioning. It gives your customers clear differences to move through without loading extra labour into service.

If two products sit in the same taste and texture role there is no gain in offering both. You do not add value by adding repetition. Contrast is what makes the board feel considered.

Simple additions to support the role of each meat

Now that you have chosen your meats with clear roles in mind, the next step is to support them with a few considered additions. These do not need to be complicated. They should simply help each product do the job you selected it for, without adding prep pressure or pushing up cost.

You do not want to overcomplicate this part. The job of these additions is to support the selected meats.

• Gran Biscotto works well with honey mustard or pickled shallots.
• Speck pairs well with apple and smoked cheese.
• Bresaola with lemon zest and Parmigiano gives clarity.
• Salame or Coppa work well with young Pecorino because the salt profile stays balanced.
• Parma 24-month is natural with pear and walnuts.
• Mortadella Pistacchio sits neatly with soft focaccia.
• Cotto Arrosto Rustico benefits from grilled radicchio.

Portioning and handling

Portion control protects margin. A useful target is 80 to 120 grams per head. It is usually more effective to feature six or seven products at 15 to 20 grams each than two products at 60 grams. Thin slicing supports aroma. Charcuterie performs best close to room temperature. Prosciutto should not be rolled into tight shapes. Tearing retains surface contact and keeps both taste and texture clean.

Once the board is structured and supported with a few simple additions, it is straightforward to turn this into a repeatable build for service. The Rovagnati lines in our November specials allow you to do this with consistency because the products sit in clearly different sensory spaces. Within the November specials there are protected origin lines where stated, so you can lean on PDO and IGP as reassurance for customers who value traceability and region-specific methods.

Salvo 1968 has supplied the trade since 1968. If you are building a winter menu and want a shared dish that gives you structure, margin control and consistency, these lines are stocked now as part of our November specials. You can order online today.