Choose the Board and Utensils: The size of the board will depend on the crowd you are serving. We recommend a wood or marble board but you can also use a cutting board, sheet tray, or large serving platter. It is not necessary to have official cheese knives but you will need a couple of small knives for slicing cheese, spoons for spreads and jams, and forks or toothpicks for items like olives and pickles.
Place the Jars and Containers: We place the jars and containers first since they will take up the most space and can be easily shifted as you start to add other items.
Place the Cheese: We place the brie wheel first as an anchor for the rest of our cheese and meats. We like to work with odd numbers and spread them out on the board. For firm cheeses like cheddar and manchego, we either slice or cube them, and leave soft cheeses whole like logs of goat cheese. We topped the goat cheese with homemade orange cranberry sauce and the brie was topped with pumpkin butter and toasted pumpkin seeds. Place the Meats: Fold or roll the meats such as salami, ham, and capicola and lay them next to the cheese they pair with best. For thinner cuts of meat such as prosciutto lay it down in ribbons.
Place the Sweet and Savory Items: Fill in spaces around the cheese and meat items with nuts, dried and fresh fruit, and chocolate. Place items like olives in bowls. We switched some bowls and moved the brie based on how the items started to lay together.
Place the Crackers and Bread: Stack crackers and bread along the edges and within the board to fill in the space. Place some on a separate plate near the board since this is the go-to vehicle for layering cheese with meats.