{"id":6373,"date":"2026-06-11T03:00:31","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T03:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/the-case-for-a-simpler-cheese-board\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T03:00:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T03:00:31","slug":"the-case-for-a-simpler-cheese-board","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/the-case-for-a-simpler-cheese-board\/","title":{"rendered":"The Case for a Simpler Cheese Board"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A singular wedge of Shropshire Blue with fruit makes for a cheese plate that\u2019s just as stunning to the palate. Photo credit Depositphotos<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cSometimes the best cheese board is just a big piece of cheese on a board,\u201d wrote Anne-Marie Pietersma in her cheese\/rom-com romp I\u2019ll Have What Cheese Having<\/em>,<\/a> and I found myself subconsciously declaring, \u201csing it, sister.\u201d Much as I enthusiastically jumped on the bandwagon of maximalist cheese boards, where every inch<\/a> of space is accounted for with an array of cheese and accompaniments \u2014 a category for which it seems nothing is truly off-limits \u2014 I have found myself occasionally longing for simpler times.<\/p>\n

On her Substack, Emily in France<\/em><\/a>, Paris-based writer, podcaster<\/a>, and cheese expert Emily Monaco recently argued that cheese and charcuterie are not always the soulmates we think they are. \u201cBut the [French] menu \u2014 and above all, the order \u2014 also shows you why you\u2019ll never see an American-style charcuterie board in France,\u201d Monaco writes. \u201cIn France, charcuterie opens the meal, and cheese closes it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Look, I rafted that salami river<\/a> with the best of them, and I will doubtlessly do it again. High-concept cheese plates are, frankly, fun. But if you\u2019re also feeling like you could sometimes take a break from excessive cheese-scaping, here is your permission to do so. Several cheese pros chimed in on the benefits of \u2014 and strategies for \u2014 a simpler cheese plate.<\/p>\n

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Let the Cheese Be the Star<\/h2>\n
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Where does one even begin? Photo credit Pamela Vachon<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

First and foremost, let us begin by not forgetting that the real star of a cheese board should be the cheese, not the design. \u201cAmerican-style cheese boards are definitely beautiful, but in my humble opinion, all those added accoutrements can be distracting,\u201d says Monaco. \u201cIn France, the cheese board is all about the cheese.\u201d Whether French, American, or otherwise, a perfectly ripe, complex cheese rarely needs excessive accompaniments to shine.<\/p>\n

If your aim is French minimalism, Monaco offers this advice: \u201cI’d counsel that less is more, and thoughtful pairings are more exciting than maximalism for the sake of maximalism,\u201d she says. \u201cI might include, for example, a sheep’s milk tomme with some cherry jam or membrillo, or a small jar of honey to go with some salty Roquefort.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Emily Monaco. Photo credit Charlotte Bailey<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Even cheese personalities who are well known for their sense of style occasionally worship a simplified, single-cheese plate.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI love extravagant boards, but there\u2019s something special about putting all the focus on one cheese,\u201d says Erika Kubick, author of Cheese Sex Death: A Bible for the Cheese Obsessed<\/em><\/a>.<\/em> \u201cIt gives the cheese the spotlight and it starts a conversation about where it\u2019s from, and how it tastes different from person to person.\u201d Kubick\u2019s popular Substack<\/a> and Instagram<\/a> accounts have featured single cheese heroes such as Robiola<\/a>, Pantaleo<\/a>, and Valen\u00e7ay <\/a>with minimal, strategic accompaniments.<\/p>\n

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Make the Cheese Accessible<\/h2>\n
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Emilia D\u2019Albero<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The best extravagant cheese boards often include pre-cut and geometrically arranged cheeses that make them easy to grab \u2014 which is especially important within that more-is-more, maximalist aesthetic. You\u2019ll occasionally find some small-format soft cheeses, however, and even some large-format hunks left whole on such a board. In those cases, \u201cpiling extras into every naked gap doesn\u2019t only make it hard to focus on the real stars,\u201d says Monaco, \u201cit makes it unwieldy.\u201d<\/p>\n

If there\u2019s no graceful way to take a bit of cheese without creating an earthquake for the other components on the board, that starts to feel more like hostility toward your guests, not hospitality. \u201cIt shouldn\u2019t feel daunting to have a snack,\u201d concurs Emilia D\u2019Albero, award-winning cheesemonger and educator. \u201cIt all comes down to accessibility \u2014 you don\u2019t want to overwhelm your guests, you want them to feel at ease and make it easy for them to grab what they want from the board.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether you\u2019re serving camembert or Comt\u00e9<\/a>, you can also save yourself some hosting effort by leaving them whole, so long as you leave a wide enough berth to allow slithering room for soft cheeses, and make slicing from firmer cheeses a realistic possibility.<\/p>\n

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Preserve the Aesthetics<\/h2>\n
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A modern minimalist cheese plate featuring Blakesville Creamery Linedeline that\u2019s no less stunning. Photo credit Evan Dannells<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My first experience with a grazing table<\/a> \u2014 the ultimate expression of maximalist cheese plating \u2014 taught me the \u201ccamera eats first\u201d principle while traveling with a group of both food journalists and influencers. (Reader: the admonishment at my enthusiasm for simply grazing before picture time was not gentle.) Though I was but a burgeoning food writer then, the point was rightfully taken. Whether you find this camera moment annoying or not, the maximalist cheese plate\/grazing table aesthetic is tarnished, not enhanced, by the act of consumption: the ultimate catch-22 of all beautifully arranged food.<\/p>\n

Even while frequently presenting a high-concept cheese plate \u2014 whether horoscope-inspired<\/a>, built around spirit pairings,<\/a> or merely \u201ccleaning out the fridge and pantry\u201d \u2014 the aesthetic only holds before anyone has touched it. The cheese plate goes from perfectly Instagrammable to not at all in a single bite. If you\u2019re late to the party, you\u2019re late to the photo op.<\/p>\n

With a large-format whole cheese, the look holds up even while the cheese is consumed, allowing more people to be dazzled by it over the course of an event. \u201cYou also get the drama of one big piece of cheese,\u201d says Kubick, \u201cwaning like a full moon throughout the duration of the gathering.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A singular wedge of Shropshire Blue with fruit makes for a cheese plate that\u2019s just as stunning to the palate. Photo credit Depositphotos \u201cSometimes the best cheese board is just a big piece of cheese on a board,\u201d wrote Anne-Marie Pietersma in her cheese\/rom-com romp I\u2019ll Have What Cheese Having, and I found myself subconsciously … Okumaya devam et “The Case for a Simpler Cheese Board”<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1271,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[395],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-milk-and-diary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1271"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6373"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6373\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}