For many people, a cheeseboard is the perfect end to a perfect meal. Here’s our step by step guide to building a board that you and your guests will love.

Choosing your cheeses

Select a variety of cheeses - 3 to 5 is ideal, aiming for a mixture of shapes, flavours, colours and textures.

You could pick a theme - English cheeses for example. Our favourite English cheeseboard would have: Westcombe Red, Mrs Kirkham’s Lanacashire, Cornish Blue, Whitelake Rachel, and Whitelake Pavé Cobble.

You could ‘tour the barnyard’. Perhaps a Westcombe Cheddar cow’s milk cheese, a Little She sheep’s milk cheese, and a Katherine goat’s milk cheese,.

Or just pick your favourites.

Selecting your crackers

Offer at least two types of crackers with your cheeseboard.

Believe it or not, different cheeses need different crackers.

Multigrain and seeded crackers like Popti Multiseed are great for aged cheeses like Parmigiano Reggiano.

Plainer crackers like Peter’s Yard Sourdough Rye Crispbreads go well with soft rind cheeses like brie

Fruited crackers like Millers Fruit Toasts compliment blue, goat’s and sheep’s cheese.

Then, any buttery crackers like Sea Salt or Oatcakes, will go well with sharp cheeses like cheddar.

And what about chutney?

Sweet chutneys like Pear & Juniper are ideally paired with soft cheeses, while tart or spicy chutneys like Piccalilli complement aged, sharp cheeses.

And you can’t go wrong with an all-rounder like Cheeseboard Chutney or Onion Marmalade.

Getting ready to serve your cheese

Take your cheeses out of the fridge an hour or so before you want them, keeping them loosely wrapped - serving them at room temperature releases their full flavour.

Serving your cheeseboard

Ideally, give each cheese its own cheese knife so you don’t mix the different flavours.

Add interest to your cheeseboard with seasonal fruit like grapes and pear, dried fruit like figs or apricots, and nuts.

Drink pairing

Pairing your cheeseboard with the right drinks can really enhance the experience. The most important thing to do is match the drink and cheese in strength.

Try a sweet dessert wine like Cellar Pinol Organic Josefina Piñol, or perhaps a glass of vintage port.

Heavy beers with a high alcohol content make a good match with blue cheese. And apple-based ciders can also be particularly good with British cheeses.

In short, you can have almost as much fun planning and preparing your cheeseboard as you can eating it. But if you want a little help, please ask us for advice.

How to build the perfect cheeseboard