I’m a big cheese fan and one of my favourite parts of a dinner party is the cheese course at the end and they’re ridiculously easy to prepare. Here I talk through how to create a perfect cheeseboard for your next dinner party.
It’s easy to forget how quick a cheeseboard can be to knock together, I normally just grab whatever cheese is in my fridge and pile the board high with some of my favourite things. It’s actually impossible to go wrong and the best bit is that the messier it looks – the better!
How to Create the Perfect Cheeseboard
First up, choose your board; I tend to use a wooden serving board but you can also use a plastic chopping board, big pizza plate or a piece of slate. If you don’t have any of these you could also use a flat baking tray.
Start by placing your unwrapped cheeses onto the board; it’s good to have a mix of cheeses. I like to have a hard cheese like a mature cheddar, a couple of soft cheeses like brie, portsalut or goats cheese, a nice blue cheese like dolcelatte or stilton and maybe a couple of fruity or crumbly cheeses. Choose your favourites!
I prefer to buy the cheeses in chunks or wedges and then serve them with cheese knives so your guests can help themselves. I also think this looks a bit prettier than presenting the cheeses pre-sliced like I would do for raclette. It’s really important to get your cheeses out of the fridge an hour or two before serving to let them come to room temperature, it make a huge different to the texture and flavours.
Next, add some salty flavours. I like to do this by adding some cured meats like prosciutto, parma ham or salami Milano to the plate. Scrunch it up, stuff it into the corners, nooks and crannies on your board and it’ll look great. I also add some nuts to the board, usually walnuts but salted peanuts or almonds work really well too. Salted pretzels are one of my favourite snacks so I always add them if I have them in my cupboard and you could even add a small bowl of olives to your cheeseboard.
Next, add some salty flavours. I like to do this by adding some cured meats like prosciutto, parma ham or salami Milano to the plate. Scrunch it up, stuff it into the corners, nooks and crannies on your board and it’ll look great. I also add some nuts to the board, usually walnuts but salted peanuts or almonds work really well too. Salted pretzels are one of my favourite snacks so I always add them if I have them in my cupboard and you could even add a small bowl of olives to your cheeseboard.
Fruit is a funny one and although I’m not a fruit lover, most guests love it so it’s always good to add some sweeter flavours and textures to the board. It also adds some lovely colour. You can add fresh fruit like grapes and strawberries or dried fruit such as apricots.
Finally, the crackers! I normally buy a selection box of crackers and just pile them onto the board in any space there is left. It’s good to have a variety, of hard crackers and soft crackers; some with seeds, some crumbly and some spicy. For that added extra, you could also add condiments like chutneys for guests to tuck into.
I normally finish by seeing where the gaps are on the board and filling them with extra nuts or pretzels and I pop some fresh rosemary on the board to garnish for added aroma and colour. Now serve up to your guests and watch them admire (and demolish) your handiwork!
Dining Inspiration
AD – Please note that this page contains affiliate links where I earn a small amount of money per click. This doesn’t cost you anything but you can find out more about affiliate links on my disclaimer.
