By Matthew Warakomski
Villager Contributor
Alicia Starks has run her online charcuterie business for five years now with a heavy focus on creating alluring displays of her flavorful grazing tables and mini-bits.
Self-taught, and referring to herself as a food stylist rather than a chef, Starks has taken great inspiration from her father.
“I can’t talk about food without mentioning my dad, because my dad is the ultimate chef,” Starks said. “From there, that kind of started, probably started my food journey, because I always knew what I wanted, because my dad cooked breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and the small things in between. So, I would tell him, I want this, this, and this. I think I got it naturally for my father.”
Starks’ father was a full-blooded chef who worked in his father’s restaurant. He grew his own herbs, creating fresh ingredients for hot food and baked goods. Starks often found herself in the kitchen beside him, even picking up an uncanny ability to identify ingredients by taste alone.
“When he would cook, of course, I was the one who always wanted to lick the spoons,” Starks said.
Starks’ business, while being online, has a major focus on Beverly/Morgan Park. Her presence on community pages helps drive engagement.
“Being in Beverly, being like a lot of my main clientele, I have a lot of my family and friends that support me 100%,” Starks said. “But I will also gain such good support just with the neighborhood, and that’s coming from being in the online groups like Moms of Beverly or 19th Ward.”
While noting it’s the internet that helped get her started, Starks said her ultimate goal is to open a brick-and-mortar store one day, something she thinks will help her business thrive rather than coast.
“I have hopes, dreams, prayers, and I hope they are answered to be able to open my own store, and I want to open it right here, because this is where I get so much support, so much love and it’s home,” Starks said.
Finding a physical storefront is no easy task, Starks said, since monthly revenue tends to fluctuate with booms over fall and winter holidays, another spike in spring, but almost nothing in the summer.
“These are the hurdles that I have been dealing with, having to raise my prices,” Starks said. “I don’t like that. I want to be affordable for people, but I cannot cheat myself.”
Starks is also a single mother of two and has already said that in order to achieve her dream, she’ll have to go back to working in logistics.
“I also have two children, that’s my world, they’re twins, they’re 10, I have a boy and a girl,” Starks said. “I’m the sole provider for them, so my personal life comes into play with the things they want to do, they play sports and I have to make sure they’re fed.”
Despite the challenges, Starks said she will continue the Alluring Graze on the side. For her, she’s equally focused on the stability of her personal life and the growth and evolution of her business.
“You want to keep growing and changing, making adjustments too, I can’t take what I was doing in 2021 and be doing that in 2026,” Starks said. “I should be continuously getting better, you want to up your appearance, you want to up your look, and again, mine is the Alluring Graze, which is esthetically pleasing things.”
Contact Starks and The Alluring Graze via email at thealluringgraze@gmail.com.
