Meet Carrie Burge | Food Stylist

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

Hi Carrie, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
Art and creativity is in my blood. Almost all of my family members— aunts, uncles, siblings, cousin— use many different styles and forms of art in their daily lives. I don’t think we would be able to function as a family without it. To choose it as a career, for me, is almost second nature. I hope to only continue to grow in my craft, as well as adopt different outlets and styles along the way. I can’t imagine a life where I’m not creating. It’s such a blessing to have the opportunity to share this passion I have with others and to have made it into a career that makes me happy. It has truly saved my life.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
t’s never been easy, not even in the slightest. I literally started this business with nothing. No money, no connections- just a board, an intense passion for food (specifically cheese), the support of my loved ones, and an abundance of suppressed creative energy within that just needed to be released. As hard as it’s been to get this going and to be at the level of success I’m at now, I wouldn’t change that struggle for the world because it’s truly made me the person I am today. When I started this in 2018, the cheeseboard business was something that no one had really been doing to the extent that I knew I wanted to take it. I was so inspired by my honeymoon trip to Spain, this is really where the spark began. I knew that I wanted to incorporate a very European, almost still-life painting, style into my work. I think that is the thing that also sets me the most apart from everyone else in this business. This style has always been the main driving aesthetic for my craft. I think that I will always continue evolving and growing— as I feel it’s so good for any business to do— because there are so many new elements and I’m always inspired by new ideas that people bring to the table. I don’t ever want to become complacent and think that what I’m doing is “good enough.” My wish is to grow this into something so unique and well rounded for my customers, old and new, to enjoy.

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.
Oh, man! Well… I’ve spent the last 10 years of my life living in Montrose, so we can start there. Typically any good day is going to start with a good cup of coffee, and one of my favorites would have to be Fix Coffee Bar off of Westheimer near Taft. For food, and in walking distance, I’d have to take someone to Aladdin Mediterranean, Love Buzz, and Brasil. For drinks and dancing, it’s going to be Grand Prize, Avant Garden, Poison Girl and always Numbers on a Friday night. Outside of Montrose, for shopping I’d have to show them 19th St. If you know me and we’re friends, we gotta go thrifting and antiquing. It’s also a must to hit up Boomtown Coffee while we’re there. Afterwards, we can make our way over to Airline and hit up Granel Spice market, El Bolillo and Caninos for some awesome spices, baked goods, and fresh produce. Hermann Park, the Japanese gardens, and the Centennial gardens are best to go to during a weekday. It’s the most magical time when there isn’t such a huge crowd of people and you can really enjoy it and take it all in. Last- Chinatown for some shopping and some amazing Korean BBQ at Tofu Village. Honorable mentions: Barbarellas, Little Dipper, Bad News Bar and La Carafe makes for a really great time when going Downtown at night. Could I really make this all happen in a week? I need to make this happen now.

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?
First off— it’s very hard to pick one person to show my appreciation for their support, guidance and inspiration throughout my journey. The first person I can think of that really grew this spark within me to have such an entrepreneurial spirit would be grandfather, Elbert Burge. He was a small Houston business owner, and I have always looked up to him so much for his dedication and love for his craft and everything that he created all on his own. Second would be my family as a whole, but more specifically two of the most important women in my life— my sister and my cousin. They have been nothing but the most encouraging, supportive and helpful right hands that a business owner could ask for. Third would be the Endometriosis Foundation of Houston. As a sufferer of endometriosis, this foundation was something that I immediately took interest in and wanted to be apart of. These ladies saw what I was doing with my business and really helped catapult my followers and clientele to such an incredible level. I’m so thankful for every last one of them, and they play such a huge part in the success that I’ve achieved.

Website: Burgeandboard.com

Instagram: www.Instagram.com/burgeandboard

Image Credits
Abigail Ballesteros Fox and lamb photography