With party season on the horizon, here’s how to hone your grazing platter skills for that showstopper effect

Courtesy of O Briehave

While Christmas will be looking a little different from previous years, that’s no reason to stint on the celebrations – if anything, we could all do with a touch more indulgence and festivities as this challenging year reaches its end. A popular way to satisfy all taste buds, and potentially create that wow factor centrepiece to boot, is with a grazing platter that will add sparkle to any festive table this Christmas.

There are plenty of tasty treats you can use to great effect on a grazing platter – from delicious, high-quality cheese to nuts, dried fruit, and cured meats – but the way you present them is just as important as the products you choose. A stunning grazing platter will not only appeal to those lucky enough to taste it but will be the ‘talk of the town’ with all your family and friends – all you need to do is follow these simple tips:

Courtesy of Three Little Figs

Be the envy of  your Instagram followers

Grazing platters have become a brilliant new way to enjoy a beautiful range of scrumptious foods in a stylish way. Here at Godminster, we first saw the grazing board trend take root in late 2019, fuelled by the ‘Instagrammability’ of some of the beautiful fine foods that are available from Artisan producers and independent retailers alike. The roots of this trend started with the boom of the wedding cheese cakes that we saw start in roughly 2013.

We are all now looking for products that look as beautiful as they taste! And making a beautiful box or table of goodies that can be enjoyed and shared with your loved ones will suddenly make you very popular with all your friends and family.

Courtesy of Three Little Figs

How to put together the perfect show-stopper grazing board 

1. You want to make sure you have all the elements of a great cheeseboard – a Cheddar, a blue, a soft, a territorial, and a ‘something special’ – while also maintaining the wow factor. Think beautifully shaped cheeses, such as star or heart-shaped truckles, combined with a goat’s cheese rolled in honey and flower petals. Whatever you choose, make sure they taste as great as they look!
2. Once you have your cheeses in place on the board, start filling up the gaps with accompaniments. We’ve seen plenty of boards that mix sweet and savoury, with seasonal fruit nestled in amongst local charcuterie, juicy olives, walnuts, almonds, figs, apricots, and more. Nestle in a few pots of dips, chutneys, jams, or pȃté, along with crunch crackers for an array of textures
3. Fill up any space as creatively as possible! Make patterns with creative cuts, pick bright fresh colours and interesting textures – Instagram and Pinterest are great for inspiration when it comes to making your board look beautiful!
4. Don’t forget your finishing touches. Garnishes such as edible flowers, fresh herbs, and of course a little bit of your shop or deli’s branding, will tie the whole thing together

Courtesy of O Briehave

Looking for inspiration to build your own grazing platters? Be sure to check out @threelittlefigsbristol (graze boxes in Bristol), @spreadsandbreadsuk (Grazing tables, platters, trays and boxes in Solihull), @overboardfoodco and @ohbriehave_ldn on Instagram.