How to Make a Charcuterie Board

Build a Foundation

• Place any bowls first. Then, place any larger blocks of cheese or large items (salami rose or smoked salmon piece). This sets your foundation. From there, you will want to arrange your items in descending order focusing on next heaviest or large items. The items should get gradually smaller and fill in the gaps.
• Sample Order: (Start) Bowls, Cheese, Meats, Bunches of Grapes, Crackers, Smaller Dried Fruit and Nuts (Finish)

Create Movement on the Board

• You want to utilize movement to create a beautiful board. Experiment with placing your bowls off-center in a variety of places on the board. When placing the foods, you can create a combination of wavy patterns or more uniform placements. Don’t be afraid to play.

Contrast your Colors

• When placing your foods, contrast your colors indifferent areas of the board. For example, if you have white crackers, you might place them near green or red grapes instead of near a white cheese. This creates visual excitement.

Vary your Sizes and Cutting Techniques

• Play around with placing larger items next to smaller items. You can also experiment with different sizes in your slicing. For example, you might cut some slices off a block of cheese and set it next to the remaining block of cheese for a beautiful contrast. You might do the same with a salami stick. You can also experiment with slicing patterns. You can cut things in a rustic way or you can do fun crisscross or dragon patterns. You can arrange meats in roses, slices or swirls.

Vary Flavors

• Depending on your dietary preferences, it is always great to have a variety of flavors on the plate. Use different meats and cheese, veggies or fruits, different dips (sweet vs. savory). This variety is part of the fun of these appetizer boards.