Product design was all but a thing of the past as Lilge worked with his wife to aid in the design of Highlands Kitchen (previously Culina Highlands). But when the chef found that the task of finding quality charcuterie boards for her restaurant (at least ones that would comfortably fit the dimensions of the small tables in the intimate space) too daunting, Lilge found a project he couldn’t resist.
He set to work on creating the perfect boards to suit his wife’s restaurant – quality boards that aspired to be heirloom objects. Made originally from walnut wood, the first boards were created by an old colleague of Lilge’s, Brandt, owner of Woodcraft Design in St. Albert. Shortly thereafter, Lilge createda board for his brother-in-law, Brad Lazarenko, the chef and owner of the Culina restaurants, and sold boards to Sugarbowl, all designed specifically to the restaurants’ needs. Soon, diverse collections of charcuterie-board designs were in the works, and Lilge, a self-proclaimed “serial-entrepreneur,” tapped Brandt to build more.
An idea for a new venture was brewing and, with two young girls at home, Lilge and Lazarenko decided to sell Highlands Kitchen to pursue their charcuterie-board business full-time. Partnering with master cabinetmaker Brandt, Lilge moved his design studio to Brandt’s woodworking shop in St. Albert, and On Our Table hit the ground running. Two years later, the business has been recognized by the The New York Times on two occasions, featured in magazines such as Wallpaper*, Monocle and Canadian House & Home, and had their charcuterie boards featured on the cover of Food & Wine Magazine.
“We’re in start-up mode again,” says Cindy Lazarenko, who notes that this project was supposed to offer more free time. The irony is not lost on her. “We went through that with the restaurant before, and now we’re back in it, marketing and branding and all that.”
The couple, of course, can’t complain. They’ve produced more than 50 items made for kitchens, with half a dozen new products released every few months. On Our Table has since moved outside of strictly making charcuterie boards – thanks, in no small part, to collaborations with Edmonton chefs. After all, every product they collaborate on ends up in the On Our Table product line. One of the newest products, for instance, a cutlery box, was originally made to suit the needs of Corso 32’s chef and owner, Daniel Costa. “We can do square boards and that would be it, but to collaborate is the interesting part of it,” says Lilge. “It’s what keeps me interested: Meeting new people and developing new products non-stop.”