Houzz TV: Assemble an Artful and Delicious Cheese Platter
Create a cheese platter like a pro for your next home gathering
Brenna Malmberg
23 November 2016
Food can be delicious and look great when it’s skillfully displayed. In this episode of Houzz TV, food expert Bibby Gignilliat shares how she assembles a cheese platter when she throws a party. “When I entertain, it’s just as important to make the food look as good as my interior home.”
Watch now: How to Assemble an Artful and Delicious Cheese Platter
1. Pick a Base
Gignilliat, CEO at Parties That Cook, likes to use a butcher block platter for her base. It comes in handy for cutting up ingredients and has a “rustic elegance,” she says.
If you use your platter for cutting, put the sliced ingredients on a plate or additional cutting board until you are ready to arrange your platter.
Browse rustic cutting boards in the Shop section
1. Pick a Base
Gignilliat, CEO at Parties That Cook, likes to use a butcher block platter for her base. It comes in handy for cutting up ingredients and has a “rustic elegance,” she says.
If you use your platter for cutting, put the sliced ingredients on a plate or additional cutting board until you are ready to arrange your platter.
Browse rustic cutting boards in the Shop section
2. Arrange the Components
Cheese. Gignilliat chose soft cheeses for her platter because they are easier for guests to cut. She places the wedges and rounds across the platter, with one in the middle and one on each end of her butcher block.
Quince paste. Next, she adds quince paste to the platter because of its sweet taste and interesting texture.
Colorful bowls. Small bowls group food together and add color to the platter. Gignilliat uses the bowls to hold sweet and salty snacks. She likes to nestle bowls together on the platter and then place one bowl on each end of the butcher block.
Meats. She sprinkles her cut meats throughout the platter. “I don’t want to have any set pattern,” she says.
Crackers. Crackers are tucked between the meats and cheeses throughout the platter. For guests who don’t eat gluten, Gignilliat fills a bowl with gluten-free crackers and puts it beside the platter.
Cheese. Gignilliat chose soft cheeses for her platter because they are easier for guests to cut. She places the wedges and rounds across the platter, with one in the middle and one on each end of her butcher block.
Quince paste. Next, she adds quince paste to the platter because of its sweet taste and interesting texture.
Colorful bowls. Small bowls group food together and add color to the platter. Gignilliat uses the bowls to hold sweet and salty snacks. She likes to nestle bowls together on the platter and then place one bowl on each end of the butcher block.
Meats. She sprinkles her cut meats throughout the platter. “I don’t want to have any set pattern,” she says.
Crackers. Crackers are tucked between the meats and cheeses throughout the platter. For guests who don’t eat gluten, Gignilliat fills a bowl with gluten-free crackers and puts it beside the platter.
3. Add Serving Utensils
Cheese knives. Gignilliat sticks a cheese knife in each cheese.
Spoons. A spoon goes in anything that needs to be dished onto plates.
Skewers. To enable guests to pick up other platter bites, she includes a bowl of small skewers or toothpicks.
Watch now: How to Assemble an Artful and Delicious Cheese Platter
Take a tour of Gignilliat’s garden, designed for entertaining
More: Make Your Checklist for Entertaining Season
Cheese knives. Gignilliat sticks a cheese knife in each cheese.
Spoons. A spoon goes in anything that needs to be dished onto plates.
Skewers. To enable guests to pick up other platter bites, she includes a bowl of small skewers or toothpicks.
Watch now: How to Assemble an Artful and Delicious Cheese Platter
Take a tour of Gignilliat’s garden, designed for entertaining
More: Make Your Checklist for Entertaining Season
Related Stories
Kitchen Guides
10 Key Kitchen Dimensions You Need to Know
Here are key kitchen dimensions that will help you design like a pro
Full Story
More Room Guides
35 Serene Puja Room Designs
Take a leaf out of these elegantly designed, beautiful prayer rooms on Houzz
Full Story
Decorating Guides
What Are the Benefits of Hiring an Interior Designer?
From furnishing working drawings to beautifying the home, find out how an interior designer plays multifunctional roles
Full Story
More Room Guides
Turn One Room Into Two With These Genius Ideas
Carve out an extra room within your home with these fab room-splitting tips and tricks
Full Story
Bedroom Guides
What Are the Ideal Wardrobe Measurements?
Here are dimensions for different types of wardrobe designs that ensure maximum functionality and storage
Full Story
Architecture
These Indian Homes Know How To Combat Harsh Climate
See how these homes by SPASM, Kumar Moorthy & Associates and JPLUSDARCHITECTS mitigate the ramifications of harsh climate ahead of time
Full Story
Architecture
How to Find an Architect That's Right for You
Make the construction and renovation of your home a pleasant and memorable journey by selecting the right architect
Full Story
Bathroom Guides
Step-by-Step: A Guide to Renovating Your Bathroom
Planning to renovate your bathroom? Learn about the different stages involved in the remodelling process
Full Story
Living Rooms
30 Best Sofa Designs
This guide gives a rundown of sofa types that will leave you spoilt for choices
Full Story
Small Spaces
7 Stylish Ways to Dry Your Laundry In a Small Apartment
Has your drying rack become a perpetual eyesore in your home? These dapper laundry drying solutions have you covered
Full Story
Yummy!
For those of you worried about Gluten Free or if you are vegan, here is my vegan platter with a lentil and pistachio dip. carrots, radish, fennel, tomatoes, mushrooms, broccolini, orange bell pepper, endive and radicchio, peapods.