Description
Join us and deepen your reverence for the forest while creating your own wood charcuterie board
Rediscover nature at the award-winning From Tree to Table Experience while you gain knowledge about the trees of Ontario’s vast Carolinian Forest with woodworker David Schonberger on 2 acres of property. Gather around an open fire, sip on tea with freshly-foraged ingredients and engage your senses. Communicate with the roots of the forest as we discover fungal networks and reverence of the woodland ecosystem through smell, taste, touch and sight.
Enter the artisanal woodshop to create your own live-edge charcuterie board alongside David and choose your own piece of locally harvested lumber. Work with a variety of tools including David’s grandfather’s vintage handtools to shape your board. In addition to creating your own board in the woodshop, take home a taste of place with a handpicked selection of the local terroir including local artisan charcuterie, cheeses, preserves and more in our Tree to Table Feasting Box. You’ll have everything you need for your first charcuterie feast on your new board at home! Groups of 4-6 have the option to choose a Chef curated lunch option in lieu of the Feasting Box. Inside the woodshop, you’ll also explore Ottercreek Woodworks’ studio of handcrafted boards, personalize your work and learn how to use your new charcuterie board at home to enjoy with loved ones.
Jayne –
An absolutely incredible experience! One that both of us will always remember and treasure!
Sarah G –
Thank you SO much for today! What an experience!
Mary Benedict –
I’m still so elated from the amazing day we had yesterday. What an experience! The whole day was just perfect and so thoughtful. I can’t wait to show off my new board!
Nassim –
Having lived in Toronto for nearly 20 years, today I had what I can easily call my most authentic experience of Ontario. I can’t thank Ottercreek Woodworks and David enough for an incredibly fulfilling day. The Tree to Table experience of making ones own charcuterie board was in and of itself a truly unique and moving experience, but in addition to that David brings the best of Ontario and the region to the experience as well, with his deep knowledge of local fauna, and a spread of locally sourced delicacies, cheese, cured meats, honey, pickles and spreads to die for. I wouldn’t think twice to recommend this experience!
Agatha Podgorski –
The Tree to Table workshop was by far the most immersive, interesting and deliciously memorable experience I’ve had the pleasure of attending in a decade.
I would recommend it to anyone looking to explore history, food or craftsmanship in a heart beat! It’s truly exceptional.
Celes Davar –
Throughout Canada, I coach makers and shapers, artists and food producers as they conceive new travel experiences. The goal is to enable them to use their passion, entrepreneurship, heritage and regional context to share their stories through new engaging experiences for residents, and travellers from nearby and from afar. These experiences are designed to involve travellers hands-on, enhance a sense of the place, and offer them a unique “take-away” as a result of having had a personable encounter with a local.
David Schonberger exemplifies the many things that make a great culinary experience: A well-crafted story, hands-on components that enable participants to learn and try new things, a walk in the woods to deepen the connection to place and climate change, and a safe work environment with guided instruction. As a Great Ontario experience, From Tree to Table demonstrates one of the best Canadian examples I have seen in which guided storytelling, culinary creativity, and relevance to place have been integrated into the making of very personal charcuterie board – with which many individualized culinary stories and gatherings will take place. Dave’s hand as artisan woodworker is as skilful as his ability to communicate why this craft is so important to him, his heritage, and to the protection of forests.
From Tree to Table exemplifies how the culinary theme has been finely shaped to integrate community collaboration, forest reverence, guided storytelling, and local culinary tastings that truly offer exceptional, authentic travel experiences showcasing multiple culinary elements found within the terroir of his home area in Ontario’s Southwest.
Lynsey Mason –
I recently participated in the From Tree to Table experience with Ottercreek Woodworks and it was amazing. I cannot say enough good things about my visit. David is passionate and knowledgeable about the Carolinian Forest area – not only did I learn more about Ontario forests, but I also left understanding why their protection, and the wood we receive from them, is so important. After our forest tour we ate a wonderful selection of local charcuterie items, and I left with a beautiful otter creek charcuterie board of my own. I will love it forever. BOOK AN EXPERIENCE WITH OTTER CREEK WOODWORKING. SAY HI TO DAVID. DO IT. GO. NOW.
Matt –
I had come to know Ottercreek Woodworks from a local cheese shop here in Oakville that stocks their boards and I have given boards from Ottercreek as presents to family members. My wife and I follow Ottercreek Woodworks on Facebook and Instagram and saw the workshops being offered. My wife offered to send me to the workshop as my birthday present. Spending time with Dave and his family was great. I enjoyed the walk in the bush to learn about the local trees that are present and how the environment plays a role in shaping what happens with the wood inside the tree. Dave was a great instructor in the wood shop, guiding us in the art of designing the shape of our boards and sharing knowledge of the tools used to create a beautiful board. Dave and his wife put on a fantastic charcuterie lunch and were happy to share their knowledge of local food producers and their family history. I enjoyed the Tree to Table: A Build-your-own Board Experience immensely and very happy to have a beautiful maple board that I made at the end of it.
Hilary H –
Amazing teaching! Great conversations and over all an incredible experience! Thanks so much! We already want to do it again!
Dan Mahoney –
The old teacher in the role of student and the student, now the teacher ! The passage of a few years delivers a role reversal . Thanks again for a very enjoyable experience today . I admire your dedication and conscientious approach to the unique learning experience you have created with your From Tree to Table program.
Jessica Robinson –
I absolutely cannot recommend the From Tree to Table experience highly enough. From the walk through the local forest to the charcuterie board-making experience to the incredible lunch, every aspect of the day is carefully thought out to give attendees a real understanding of the land and the life that makes it up. Dave is the most thoughtful, knowledgeable host when it comes to both the forest and the woodworking, as well as the local purveyors that make this experience what it is. Whether you’re a visiting tourist or a local who has lived in the province your whole life, I firmly believe that this is the best tourism experience you can do to get to know Ontario.
Joe L. –
Thank you David. Everyone had a great time and they are still talking about their boards and the experience!
Mike –
The whole day was a wonderful experience, and our board seems to have darkened a little overnight and somehow looks even better today!
Jessica –
We wanted to thank you again for a great experience. We really enjoyed spending the day with you in your workshop and amongst the trees. We learned so much! Your passion for your craft and love and appreciation for nature is evident in every little detail. It truly is a one of a kind experience. We can’t wait to use our board and share it with family and friends.
Andrea M –
We want to thank you again so much for an amazing day that we will always remember. We all had a great time. It was so nice to hear the kids say how much they enjoyed it and love the outcome of their boards.
Frank & I would like to thank you for being so patient with Kyle and inspiring.
Frank loved his special day. It meant a lot to him to spend this time with his family. When the kids get older it’s so hard to get this kind of time with them because of work.
The food…All I can say is wow! It was was a beautiful display of charcuterie and very yummy!!
Kelsey M. –
We had a blast at Ottercreek Woodworks! Thank you so much for an awesome experience!
Lise T –
Hi David, Just wanted to say thanks again for the wonderful experience! We all enjoyed our time with you and are pretty proud of our projects. And thank you for the delicious lunch! We enjoyed our leftover charcuterie as a snack on our long drive home 🙂
Clive C –
David – It was an absolute pleasure spending the day with you, crafting a beautiful charcuterie board, and learning about the abundant Carolinian forest (who knew fungi could be so amazing and interesting)! It is an experience my wife Anna and I will never forget. I would recommend the “From Tree to Table Experience” to anybody looking for something unique to do while connecting to nature and learning some woodworking skills from a talented carpenter! Bravo!
Eleanor & Mike G –
Dave, we had a wonderful day with you Friday last. We enjoyed making our board but even more so, we are profoundly thankful for the walk and your educational narrative. Many thanks for an experience we will remember always.
Rob M –
I am still processing my experience with Ottercreek Woodworks. It was a wonderful day. I didn’t once feel rushed or pressured. David was kind and fun and his expertise was amazing. Dave’s character taught us to respect the Indigenous land (tobacco) and gave us a fantastic connection to the local forest. Dave provided us with a wonderful history of the Carolinian Forest. He taught us about mushrooms and we shared a wonderful tea. Very unexpected. And welcome. The sensory connections were great! It was a wonderful experience! Thanks!
P.S. My board f….ing rocks!!!!!!
Carol and Paul D –
Thank you for our special day with you yesterday. We were 4 people, friends, who really enjoyed ourselves, and our time together.
What a surprise it was to be sent off with our own Feasting Box to set us up for the first use of our Charcuterie boards!
We really appreciated you extending our time frame so we could finish the board-building process completely, and receive full benefit of the package you offer.
You are so organized and thorough, that we have a truly wonderful adventure and learning experience to treasure !.
Bob & Carol D –
Thankyou again, David, for a remarkable day yesterday. Your mission and your passion really resonated with us!
Stephen and Nicole –
We just wanted to say thank you again for such an incredible experience during our day. David’s love and passion for nature, the environment around him, as well as his craft makes the day so much more fulfilling than we could have ever imagined. The education and fun we had made for such an amazing day that will never be forgotten! And like most of the other comments, our boards turned out amazing!!