How To Make A Christmas Cheese Board

If you want to make a seasonal splash, a festive cheeseboard always impresses and adds a special touch to holiday gatherings. Christmas may be the busiest time of year, but it’s also when we expect extra luxury and enjoyment in our celebrations.

This essential step-by-step guide to how to make a Christmas cheeseboard will help you create the perfect party cheese platter, with sensational results. At Cheshire Cheese Company, we are the experts in hand-crafted cheeses made to time-honoured recipes. 

We use only traditional processes and locally sourced milk to create our range of tasty truckles and delicious Christmas cheese. We’ve got you covered at Christmas, whether you’re looking for gifts or artisan-style cheese to enjoy at home.

What to put on a Christmas cheese board?

Follow our guide to exactly what to put on a Christmas cheeseboard, from the best cheeses for this time of year to the pairings that offer a right range of tastes. We’ll help you pick the right accompaniments, from crackers and bread to chutneys and pickles.

We’ll also give you ideas for decorating your cheeseboard, and set you straight on serving utensils for your holiday platter. You’ll be surprised how easy making a savoury Christmas centrepiece can be when you follow our 10 steps to cheeseboard success. 

How to Make a Cheese Platter for Christmas

1. Pick a festive serving platter:

Use a cutting board, slate or large serving platter as the base for your cheese board. You can also use a wooden board, marble slab or a holiday-themed platter to add some festive charm. But don’t worry, you don’t need anything too decorative, as the cheese and other foodstuffs will do the work for you.

2. Choose a variety of Cheeses:

We’d suggest three to five cheeses for your cheeseboard, with a variety of textures and flavors. Select a mix of cheeses to appeal to different tastes. Because of the time of year, richer and more intense flavours work well. Cheddar or Stilton are usually considered must-haves on any Christmas cheeseboard. 

Aged or extra mature Cheddar cheeses, like our signature Black Bob and award-winning Vintage Cheddar, are very popular choices for cheeseboards at Christmas. Both are meticulously aged by our master cheese-makers for a rich and robust flavour. We’re exceptionally proud that our Vintage Cheddar was a gold winner at the International Cheese and Dairy Awards 2023.

Stilton is perfect for anyone who enjoys stronger cheeses, and it pairs well with walnuts and sweet wine. Our Stilton is the Hartington Blue Stilton cheese, another gold winner at the International Cheese Awards. It’s produced by our friends at Hartington Creamery who make the creamiest, tangiest and best artisan-made Stilton cheese. 

We also pride ourselves on our flagship traditional Cheshire cheese, celebrated for its smooth, creamy texture with a distinctive Cheshire tang. This is a softer, milder cheese, made using the traditional Cheshire cheesemaking process, refined over generations at Laurel’s Farm. And yes, our Cheshire cheese is another gold award winner 2023.

New for Christmas 2023, we’ve combined the rich smoothness of our Cheshire cheese with the iconic flavours of yuletide. Our two Christmas speciality cheeses, Clementine and Cranberry, are sure to delight guests with their seasonal taste twists. Their distinctive red and green wax coverings mean they look great on a cheeseboard as a pair this Christmas.

Here is a round-up of the popular types of cheeses for any Christmas cheeseboard:

• Hard cheese: Options like Cheddar, Gouda or Manchego work well.
• Soft cheese: Consider Brie, Camembert, Cheshire or goat’s cheese.
• Blue cheese: Stilton, Roquefort or Gorgonzola add a strong flavour.
• Speciality cheese: Cheeses with flavourful twists like our Christmas duo Clemetine and Cranberry, or our popular Reserva with caramelised onion and Rioja. Take a look at all our individual cheese truckles, including our popular flavour infusions.

3. Add some Accompaniments:

• Crackers and Bread: Offer a variety of plain and flavored crackers, baguette slices, and breadsticks.
• Fruits: Include fresh fruits like grapes, apple slices, figs, or dried fruits such as apricots and cranberries.
• Nuts: Almonds, walnuts, and pecans are excellent choices.
• Spreads: Add some jams, chutneys, or honey for a sweet touch.
• Olives and Pickles: Green and black olives, as well as pickles, add a salty element.
• Cured Meats: Prosciutto, salami, or chorizo pair well with cheese.

We’ve got all the essential accompaniments for your cheesboard in one handy place on our website. Find exactly the right chutneys, jam and crackers to go with our delicious cheeses.

4. Arrange the cheeses:

Olive magazine has these tips for presenting different cheeses on your cheese board:

• Chill goat’s cheese before cutting into discs.
• Slice block cheeses like Cheddar and red Leicester into rectangles, then across diagonally to make smart wedges, or cut into little cubes.
• Leave softer cheeses such as brie and creamy or crumbly blue whole.

Pinterest has some inspiring ideas for cheese board wreaths and even cheese displays arranged in the shape of Christmas trees. Christmas is the time to release your inner food stylist and create a real yuletide showstopper.

5. Decorate and fill gaps

Fill empty spaces on the board with the accompaniments such as grapes, figs, cranberries and nuts. Use fresh herbs like rosemary sprigs or bay leaves for a colourful touch, or try cinnamon sticks and dried orange slices. Around your cheeseboard, let’s say that anything goes. You can develop your Christmas theme fully with pieces of holly, pine cones and winter greenery.

6. Consider the flow

When arranging your cheese board, think about the flow of flavors. Start with milder cheeses and progress to stronger ones. As tempting as it might be for guests to make a beeline for the Stilton – the quintessential Christmas cheese – experts recommend saving this until last, as its big mineral bite can overpower other flavours. Place your accompaniments strategically near the cheeses they are paired with.

7. Serve at room temperature

Remove the cheeses from the refrigerator around 40 minutes before serving. Cheese is best enjoyed at room temperature for the fullest flavor. Try not to place them anywhere too warm before or during the party, such as near the oven or by a radiator.

8. Provide utensils

Set out cheese knives, spreaders, and small tongs for guests to use, as well as a spoon for each of your spreads. Make sure there's a separate knife for each type of cheese.

9. Label the cheeses

If you have an assortment of cheeses, provide labels or small signs so that guests know what they are enjoying. It’s easy to miss out this step in the flurry of party prep, but it makes a big difference to your guests’ enjoyment of the cheese.

10. Enjoy!

Encourage your guests to explore and savour the different cheese and accompaniment combinations. A well-arranged cheese board is a delightful centrepiece for your holiday celebration.

At the Cheshire Cheese Company, we’re the home of all things cheese at Christmas. Shop from our range of traditionally made cheese truckles that are perfect for this time of year. We also have Christmas hampers and a range of Christmas cheese gifts. 

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