A guide to the perfect cheese plate

Presentation

To avoid altering the taste of cheese, use a board made out of a natural material: wood, wicker, slate... Play on the natural by arranging the cheese on fresh oak, chestnut, or vine leaves that you have previously rinsed!

To make the cheese course an entertaining time, why not create a set of handwritten labels showing the name of the cheese, the country of origin, and transform the course into a quiz!

Choice of cheeses

For a meal with family or friends, choose at least four main families of cheese:

  • Entremont hard pressed cheese: Comté, Emmental, Beaufort, Gruyère France 
  • soft rind-washed cheese: Camembert, Munster, Livarot
  • blue cheese: Roquefort, Fourme d'Ambert, Bleu d'Auvergne
  • goat cheese: Crottin de Chavignol, Saint Maure de Tourraine

If you have serious cheese lovers at the table, do not hesitate to garnish your seasonal cheese board with some protected designation of origin cheeses that can only be made at a certain time of the year.

Arrangement

The position of each cheese on the board is important, especially if you are offering a large choice on a big board...

You should first and foremost consider service convenience.

Our tip to arrange the cheeses

  • Put crumbly cheeses in the middle (goat cheese, veined cheese, etc.) with a space between them
  • on the edge of the board: hard cheeses which you need to press down hard on to cut
  • and dot about: small cheeses and soft rind-washed cheeses

You simply need to sprinkle grapes and apricots (dried and fresh) over the board for a sweet touch ... et voilà!

Tip: disguised fruit!

Have you ever hear of fruit disguised as marzipan? Innovate by proposing cheese disguised as fruit to your guest! Take a prune (or date), cut it in half and replace the stone with a piece of hard cheese or goat cheese. Surprise and indulgence guaranteed...

How should cheese be cut?

When serving cheese, you need to know that they are cut differently depending on their size or consistency. Small cheeses are cut into portions like cake. Round cheeses are cut from the centre and square cheeses in slices. Brie is cut into a triangle and Roquefort at an angle.  Finally Parmesan, is cut as it crumbles, in fragments...