How to Build the Perfect Charcuterie Board

While it’s often tempting to go all out with a meat- and cheese-laden board no matter who your company is, considering the guest list goes a long way when it comes to building a board everyone will love. As soon as you figure out who’s coming over, run through their dietary restrictions. Are you serving someone that’s gluten-free or dairy-free? In that case, you might want crudité and hummus in addition to cheese and crackers. Considering the small details will go a long way in ensuring that everyone is able to enjoy and appreciate what you build.

An oft-overlooked element of a perfect charcuterie board? The base. No matter how beautiful your board, it’ll only look as good as the vessel it’s served on. We choose our surface based on a number of things: if you’re serving lots of crudité, you’ll want raised edges, so your celery and carrots don’t roll off–don’t worry, our oval platter has you covered. If you want to keep things classic, you can never go wrong with cork.

Once you’ve figured out dietary restrictions and gotten your serving vessel sorted, it’s time to move on to the best part: building the board.

If cheese is the centerpiece of your creation, it’s always fun to work with a few funky choices while ensuring you have a couple of safe bases for the less adventurous eaters to work with. Our favorite cheese on the more adventurous side is Mont D’Or, which is always served in a distinct wooden box and is only available between September and March. It’s a cheese that only true fromage fans are aware of, but it has broad appeal: almost every guest we’ve served it to has been instantly enamored. Pair it with a simpler soft cheese option, such as brie, and two hard cheeses (we always like to have an equal balance of hard and soft cheeses), such as a drunken goat and a manchego. When it comes to additional accoutrements, we love serving these cheeses alongside a hearty cracker like raincoast crisps, candied walnuts, and salami.

If you’re leaning towards a creation that goes heavier on the crudité, prioritize color. Our favorite vegetables for pops of color also happen to be delicious: watermelon radish and its vibrant pink is a personal favorite, as are rainbow carrots. Balance them out with twists on traditional dips, like beet hummus instead of traditional and green goddess dressing instead of a more dairy-heavy option.