Say Cheese! Simple Steps to Creating a Festive Cheese Board
Whoever was first inspired to turn the traditional meal-end cheese course into an appetizer was brilliant! Living in California, the nation’s second-largest cheese producer, we’ve come to know the cheese board as an entertaining staple. And today's Bay Area cheesemakers offer a world-class selecton of handcrafted, small-batch cheeses and iconic flavor-packing nibblers ready to mix and mingle at all of your celebrations.
Whether presented with meats, or prepped as a seasonal tour of local cheeses, a beautiful cheese board is a perfect conversation starter and tasting springboard for a fun evening. Best of all, it can be pulled together in minutes.
We’ve gathered ideas from some local caterers and cheese board experts who shared easy ways to put the wow and a little local love on your board creations. Using some simple layering techniques and a few local cheeses*, you’ll be ready to get the party started. (*See a few of our show-stopping local cheese favorites below–they all come with a story to tell.)
LAYER 1 Build your seasonal backdrop. First find the right size board; one with a beautiful wood grain to serve as your culinary canvas. Then build your backdrop by adding fresh seasonal produce or natural elements, like leaves and flowers from edible plants.
“Shop from your backyard within the seasons and keep it simple,” advises Tabitha Stroup, chef and co-owner of Friend in Cheeses Jam Co. in Santa Cruz.
We found fig leaves and seasonal radicchio as perfect cheese place makers for our seasonal spread. Citrus leaves and herbs like rosemary are also great accents around a landing spot for the cheeses. Add color (and flavor) with ripe pomegranates, persimmons and citrus as fresh foundational elements to show off the Bay Area winter season and draw in a hungry crowd.
LAYER 2 Place the cheeses. Layer on the main attractions with fresh, soft-ripened and aged local cheeses.
Personal chef John Barone works to create contrasting flavors and textures for his cheese and charcuterie boards, and encourages using “cheeses derived from different types of milk and varying in age.” He recommends placing your cheeses near paired charcuterie and complementary spreads.
LAYER 3 Fill in and finish with paired bites. By adding nibbles like nuts and olives and spreads like jams and honey next to specific cheeses, you’ll encourage lip-smacking pairings and tastes.
Fill in spaces by mixing sweet and salty finger food—a briny olive mix, sweet caramelized pecans, salty almonds, pickled caper berries and dried fruit—to offer something tempting to every palate. Tabitha of Friend in Cheeses Jam Co. notes that “opposites attract on a cheese board and hit all the sensory bases,” whether with the nibbles or the jams and spreads. Her company’s Prickly Pear Cactus Jam, a distinctive rouge-hued jam made from dry-farmed California Otuna fruit (cactus pears) enhanced by bergamot and cardamom, is a perfect pairing with washed-rind cheeses, feta and burrata.
Epicurean Group founder and CEO Mary Clark Bartlett seeks out flavor-packed local preserves including olallieberry, cranberry and pomegranate to accompany local cheeses.
How much to add on each step? Once again, our “Friend in Cheeses” Tabitha gives a helpful tip that “adding elements in odd numbers is not only pleasing to the eye, but gives a great array of options for people to mix and match.”
Now enjoy, refresh the plate accordingly, and just say cheese!
Four Bay Area cheese board party pleasers
This season, we elevated our cheese board with a few regional party pleasers worth a spotlight.
Harley Farms Monet, Goat Milk
Harley Farms of Pescadero decorates this show-stopping goat cheese round with their signature edible flowers and herbes de Provence. Dee Harley recommends pairing with a Chardonnay from Woodside Vineyards or Storrs Winery.
Cypress Grove Bermuda Triangle, Goat Milk
This award-winning tangy, tart brie-family goat cheese by Cypress Grove of Arcata boasts intense pepper notes and is molded in a triangle for easy slicing and unique presentation on the plate.
Morsey’s Mozzarella di Bufala
The restaurant at Morsey’s Farmhouse Creamery in Los Altos produce this fresh, rich cheese from the milk of their 200+ water buffalo. It’s California style, but crafted to rival the great mozzarella di bufala of Italy. Available at the restaurant.
Point Reyes Toma
“Toma” means cheese made by the farmer. This semi-firm farmstead cheese by Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company, Point Reyes Station is all natural with a buttery, creamy flavor and a grassy tang finish. Pairs well with hoppy beers, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
