A cheese board is undoubtedly an excellent appetizer that is easy to prepare, but high on the wow factor. With hundreds of cheeses to choose from and accompaniments to pair them with, how can you design the perfect dish (and make sure it looks Instagram-worthy, obviously)? Here are some easy steps you can follow.

Bring Your Tools

Make sure your guests are not left hanging! Serve each element with the appropriate serving utensil. Make sure you have small spoons or spreaders at the ready for the jam, toothpicks for picking up fruit and olives, and cheese knives of course! Keep the flavors separate by using separate knives for each cheese. It shouldn't taste like blue cheese when you're eating Brie!

1. Knife with a spear tip: Hard cheeses, semi-hard cheeses, and semi-soft cheeses

2. Cheeses that are semi-soft, soft, and fresh can be spread with a plain knife

3. Slice hard cheese or crumbly cheese (like blue cheese) with a flat knife

4. A spear tip knife is also useful for slicing hard cheeses and holding them in place while doing so and is suitable for crumbly cheeses or for placing cheese.

Add some Side Dishes

It's essential to have a cheese companion! Trying new cheese paired with different flavors is half the fun. Your next cheese platter must include everything from crackers, baguette slices, jams, sauces, chutneys, berries, and sliced fruit to wine.

Select your Cheese

Cheese should be chosen with care. For this appetizer, you don't need to use everything you have, as the cheese will be the main component. Aged, soft, firm, and blue cheeses all have different textures and flavors. While you don't have to cater to every category, it can be fun! Keep your guests' tastes in mind as well by choosing a selection of cheese that will be familiar to them. Serving raw milk cheese to pregnant guests is not recommended, for example. Consider your customers' likes and dislikes, but offer adventurous options too.

Your cheese choices will look beautiful if they are presented on a board (you can use wood, marble, or slate for a memorable display). For three or four kinds of cheese, place cheese in each corner of the board, use a quarter of the board, etc. When the cheese is served at room temperature, the flavors will be enhanced, but if it is too warm, the board will become soggy or melt. For the cheeses to be at the ideal serving temperature, they should be removed from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before serving. Dairy cheeses whose density makes them harder to heat require about an hour to thaw prior to use.

Fill in the Gaps

Especially large holes on the board should be filled with fruit (apple slices, apricots, grapes, fresh figs, dried figs), jam, olive tapenade, olives, and/or dried/cured meats (such as pepperoni, prosciutto, salami). Adding crunchy extras like nuts and seeds will help fill in any remaining spaces (start with almonds, pistachios, pecans, or walnuts.).

Label Your Cheese

Each cheese should be labeled. The simple fact that more restaurants do this is probably obvious to everyone. It is likely that a guest will want to know what a new cheese is if they love it. The names can be repeated all night long if you wish, but labels are a much more effective solution. You can even make your own labels or go for a simple solution like toothpicks with printed paper.