How To Create The Ultimate Cheese Board

Would you love to know how to create the ultimate cheese board? The perfect cheese board can have people talking about it for weeks. We eat with our eyes so it needs to be vibrant and inviting as well as loaded with delectable cheeses and accompaniments. At House & Garden we absolutely love using wooden boards for our creations but we have also seen some creative variance on the traditional cheese platter with cake stands and tiers being used as well. The sky truly is the limit when it comes to arranging and styling a cheese board but here are a few key rules we follow to make it easy especially when we’re short on time.

Step one

First you will need to gather all your elements in one spot so that you don’t forget anything. Make sure you are offering a decent mixture of cheeses that will include something for everyone including soft, hard, mild or strong flavours. A fail safe selection is a classic vintage cheddar that everyone will like with the addition of a creamy brie and blue or a washed rind for the more adventurous. We like to cut wheels in half and “test” a small piece ourselves so that guests don’t feel embarrassed about jumping in.

If you’re serving your cheese before a meal try and stick to savoury accompaniments such as sundried tomatoes, olive oil, cured meats and pate while the combination of cheese with sweets such as fresh and dried fruit, honey or dark chocolate can finish off a meal perfectly.

If you start your board creation with the biggest items first, typically the blocks of cheese, you will then need to place the smaller elements such as the fruit, nuts, crackers and so on in the gaps. Remember to make sure there’s just the right amount of space between cheeses and accompaniments for you and your guests to cut and serve. If there are specific accompaniments for the cheeses, you can make it super easy for your guests by placing the accompaniment next to the matching cheese.

Step two

Next, we add seasonal fresh fruit to lighten the board and lift the flavours of the cheese. It’s important to make sure you have enough knives and serving spoons for all your different components. They don’t necessarily need to match if each cheese has its own knife and dips and pastes have separate serving spoons and knives to avoid mixing and contaminating flavours.

You should always have spare bowls nearby to collect any olive pips, fruit seeds or nut shells.

With these tips in mind, you’ll be able to put together cheese boards and platters in your sleep! Remember, House & Garden stocks a stunning range of timber serving boards, cheese serving accessories and tools to help you create the perfect cheese board for you and your guests.