Picture Perfect Picnics

By Shelby Deering
Still Life Photos by Cody Lacrosse, Tandem Photography

Taste the best of Door County with a delicious charcuterie board or a pretty platter spread. With its sweeping waterside views, expansive green spaces, and state parks galore, Door County is a place that’s made for idyllic picnic meals, shared with family and friends. No spread is complete without a charcuterie board — one that’s brimming with locally made, caught, and grown cheese, nuts, fruits and vegetables, breads, jams, and smoked fish. Whether you’re looking to whip up a traditional picnic basket, a party platter, or a Swedish-inspired smorgasbord, you can shop these stocked Door County destinations. 

PICNIC BASKETS

If you’d like someone to prepare you a gourmet feast, look to a curated picnic experience. 

Pretty & Plated — Wicker Basket
Wicker Basket is a luxury picnic business that puts together and delivers the prettiest grazing boards you’ve ever seen and will further set the ambiance with chairs, blankets, and decor. 

Goodies to Go — The Ginger House
At The Ginger House in Fish Creek, you can fill a colorful, imported basket with gourmet goods for a delightful picnic — from local cheese and seafood spreads to cookies, crackers, wine, and Old Fashioned cocktail ingredients — or select local produce from the town's Wednesday farmers market right outside the front door.

PRODUCE

Enhance your party platter with an assortment of crudités. 

Berries & Beef — Waseda Farms 
With locations in Baileys Harbor and Sturgeon Bay, Waseda Farms market features locally grown produce, from fresh herbs to vibrant veggies, plus organic, grass-fed beef and pork. 

Rooted in Goodness — Wood Orchard Market
Egg Harbor’s Wood Orchard Market proves popular with its displays of homegrown strawberries, mushrooms, cherries, and apples. 

Pick of the Crop — Choice Orchards
Pick your own cherries and apples at Choice Orchards farm market in Sturgeon Bay — BYO picnics are encouraged. 

Farmstand Favorites — Healthy Way Market 
Also in Sturgeon Bay is Healthy Way Market, which touts goods from around Wisconsin, including greens from Door County's own 57 Farm Store, Grow Door County, Hidden Acres, mo.gro mushrooms, Sully's Produce, and more. 

Stocked & Fresh — Main Street Market 
Visit Egg Harbor's grocer, Main Street Market, for an abundant selection of produce — from lemons, limes, and other citrus to packaged, pickled, jarred, and canned fruits and vegetables.

CHEESE

The staple item of any delicious charcuterie board? It’s cheese, of course! And here in Wisconsin, we know cheese. 

Bayfront Bites — Door County Creamery 
Door County is a veritable dairy destination, thanks to places like Door County Creamery. They are known for their goat cheese, which comes in a wide variety of flavors, like lingonberry-chevre, cherry, and truffle. Grab some goodies from the shop, then walk to Sister Bay Beach to share them with family and friends. 

Aged to Perfection — Renard’s Artisan Cheese 
Be sure to stop at Renard’s Cheese & Melt Bistro in Sturgeon Bay. It's a family-owned operation founded in 1961 that’s still crafting mouthwatering artisan cheeses to this day. Don’t miss their smoked Gouda and horseradish cheddar cheese spread or their to-go sandwiches from Melt Bistro. 

A Slice Above — Wisconsin Cheese Masters 
In Egg Harbor, you’ll find Wisconsin Cheese Masters. Sample any of the more than 60 varieties of Wisconsin cheese as you discover new favorites.

BREADS

What’s a charcuterie board without plenty of cozy carbs to tide you over? 

Baked Bliss — MacReady Artisan Bread Company 
To stock up on bread, look to spots like MacReady Artisan Bread Company in Egg Harbor, filled with the wafting scent of freshly baked artisan breads. Try the Door County tart-cherry-and-driedcranberry bread and multigrain Happy Hippie slices. 

Rise & Shine — Cultured 
Perhaps sourdough is more your speed. In that case, head to Sister Bay’s Cultured, a bakery that boasts classic sourdough loaves, focaccia, and bagels, as well as fermented goods, such as sauerkraut and kimchi, ideal sides for a party platter.

JAMS & JELLIES

If you’re serving up bread or crackers on your board, you’ll definitely need some jams and jellies to go with them! 

Spread the Love — Seaquist Orchards Farm Market 
Luckily, preserves are in no short supply in Door County and are found at places like Seaquist Orchards Farm Market in Sister Bay. Here, you’ll discover sweet spreads like cherry jelly, strawberry-rhubarb jam, and cherry-orange marmalade. 

Cherry on Top — Cherry De-Lite Country Ovens 
At Forestville’s Cherry De-Lite Country Ovens, you can’t leave without some renowned cherry preserves—and pick up some of their chocolate-covered cherries for a sweet-themed board. 

Jam Session — Bea's Ho-Made Products 
Since 1961, Bea's Ho-Made Products in Gills Rock has been making batches of homemade jams, such as the Door County Medley, a blend of cherry, strawberry, apple, and raspberry flavors, and the Door Delight, made with blackberries, apples, and rhubarb.

LOCAL MARKETS

Although it’s so much fun to piece together your essentials from destinations all around Door County, you can also peruse a one-stop shop market instead. 

Charcuterie Central — Thyme Market 
Sister Bay’s Thyme Market & Catering is a delightful gourmet grocer featuring a cheese counter, freshly baked bread, and an olive bar. 

One-Stop Shop — Fish Creek Market 
Along Main Street sits Fish Creek Market, a charming mercantile and specialty grocery lined with shelves that hold all of your charcuterie whims, from wine and beer to crackers and seasonal produce. 

Local Staples — Harbor Market Grocery 
In Baileys Harbor, you'll find the “mom-and-pop grocery store” Harbor Market Grocery, which carries nuts, meats, cheeses, and grown-in-Door-County freeze-dried fruit you can use on your board.

SMOKED FISH

While meats are undoubtedly a mainstay of charcuterie boards, here in Door County, we give a nod to our Scandinavian culture and include smoked fish. 

Catch of the Day — Charlie’s Smokehouse
You can find such fish at locales like Charlie’s Smokehouse, a Gills Rock institution that’s been around since 1932 and specializes in smoked Atlantic salmon and locally caught whitefish. 

From Lake to Plate — Baileys Harbor Fish Company
Seafood market Baileys Harbor Fish Company, a four-generation commercial fishing family, has a selection of both fresh and smoked fish, caught directly from their boats. 

Board-Ready Bites — Henriksen's Fish House
At the "Gateway to Ellison Bay," stop into Henriksen's Fish House, a retail space that showcases locally harvested whitefish caught by a father-and-son team. Sample delicacies like cream or goat cheese whitefish spread, smoked, boneless whitefish fillets, and made-in-house pickled herring, all ideal for a charcuterie board.

OILS, DIPS & MORE

Pair bread and crackers, veggies, cheese, and smoked fish with flavorful oils, vinegars, dips, and salsa. 

Bottled Bliss — Madison Avenue Market 
Sturgeon Bay’s Madison Avenue Market Wine & Olive Oil offers opportunities to taste their olive oils and balsamic vinegars before purchase, and they're bottled right here in Door County. 

Savory Splash — Fat Louie's Olive Oil Company 
Pop into Fat Louie's Olive Oil Company in Egg Harbor for an array of infused olive oils and balsamic vinegar, from Tuscan-herb olive oil and raspberry balsamic vinegar, plus products made with local cherries, such as cherry salsa and cherry barbecue sauce.

PLATTERS, PLATES & PRESENTATION

For special touches your guests will appreciate, jazz up your spread or picnic with one-of-a-kind cookware, kitchen tools, cutlery, and tabletop accoutrements. 

Serve in Style — Cornucopia Kitchen Shop
To properly present a feast for the eyes, head to Sturgeon Bay’s Cornucopia Kitchen Shop, literally overflowing with a cornucopia of serving options: Boos blocks, Epicurean boards, Chantal platters, and more. 

Platter Perfection — The Main Course
For hand-hewn cutting boards, gorgeous ceramic platters festooned with floral motifs, and unique kitchen gadgets, stop by The Main Course in Fish Creek.