How To Do a Cheese Tray

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Thanks to my lucky win of a fantastic cheese basket at the Taste Alberta launch, I had not only some superb cheese to serve at my little open house in December, but the utensils to serve them with!

But here’s a caveat before I start.

I have no idea what I am doing.

Alright, now that we have that settled, on to the cheese board! I scoured the ‘net the night before my little open house soiree, trying to find pictures of something I could replicate easily and ending up finding nothing that appealed to me.

Most had fruit – something I had no interest in including- or were pre-made by Safeway types on a black tray, definitely not what I was looking for.

I wanted simple, attractive, use what I already owned and feature just beautiful cheese.

No offense to fruit, but when the cheese is $42 a kilo and very hard to come by, like the Sylvan Star Old Grizzly below, I wanted people to be able to taste the cheese itself.

This was not a dessert or after meal cheese tray.

This was taste this cheese and like it.

I did include some water biscuits and amazing, and I do mean amazing, crackers full of nuts and berries and seeds, to add that sweet flavor that could be paired with the cheese nicely.

I also made little signs labeling the cheese, since there was no way I would remember which was what by the time I was 2-3 glasses of wine into the party.

These were simple little place card holders that I bought for my son’s Star Wars party back in November. I have actually found them to be an invaluable investment.

The Sylvan Star Old Grizzly was everything it has been touted to be, a rich, creamy, sharp Gouda that has been aged a long time. If you are a fan of aged cheese, this is the one for you. I am not usually a fan, yet enjoyed this cheese far too much. So I guess I am a fan of high quality aged cheese.

Beer cheese from The Cheese Factory here in Edmonton, found at 8943 82 Avenue NW, or at the Old Strathcona Farmers market on Saturdays.

It’s like crack.

Salty, stringy, dry cheese in the form of a cheese stick.

The adults cheese stick.

My favorite cheese ever.

We didn’t even use half the fancy utensils that I won, so they aren’t a necessity at all.

What I would deem a necessity is little cards, and you can make these out of folded paper without a holder, outlining which cheese is which, presented on a cutting board so people aren’t hesitant to chop off a slice of what they want and a superior selection of cheese.

Go for quality and not quantity and you can’t lose.

And this whole post just makes me wish I had beer cheese in my fridge.