Getting on Board 

The guy who makes the cutting board doesn't usually meet the celebrity chef using it to mince shallots. But last fall, David Glickman, owner of the Vermont Butcher Block & Board Company, got the call that every craftsperson craves: The assistant of Chef Daniel Boulud was seeking a company to make 60 serving boards for Boulud's new restaurant, Bar Boulud, and VBB&B was on the short list.

"We ended up sending a number of samples," Glickman explains. "I was told that there were four or five other companies involved." Why did Boulud's staffers ultimately choose him? "I think they wanted to go with us because of the Vermont connection and because of the customer service we provided," he guesses. "They wanted something uniform and beautiful as opposed to something mass-manufactured." When the restaurant opened on December 31, they were serving charcuterie, such as house-made pâtés and sausages, on VBB&B boards

Along with the sale, Glickman also scored dinner for four at Boulud's New York flagship restaurant, Daniel. He plans to redeem the free meal in early March, when he goes to New York to talk with the restaurant about an order of custom-made wine coasters. "They want something that matches the style of the restaurant," he says.

The woodworker isn't the only one who's excited about the trip. His wife, Susan Glickman is a foodie, too. She's the head librarian in charge of NECI's culinary book, movie and magazine collection, with 5700-plus holdings. It's a good bet that some of Boulud's many tomes, such as Cooking with Daniel Boulud, are among them.