Cheese Board Ideas

You can make a cheese board look beautiful, intriguing and full of style. But the cheese has to be good! The cheese is the star of the show and you want to make sure it brings the same joy upon its tasting as it does visually. The quality of cheese, the selection of cheese and the temperature the cheese is served at (remove from the fridge 1 hour before serving) all play a role in the success of your board.

At Cosgrove and Son, we are very proud of our cheese and we source only the best quality. If cheese is on our counter, it is due to consistency: reliable quality, flavour and availability. Perhaps surprising to some, finding consistency in cheese is harder achieved than imagined. We only sell exceptional. But most importantly, we listen to our customers. There are a select number of high quality and much loved cheeses that our customers adore and our mission is to ensure they receive it in the best condition possible, always cut fresh off the block. When a cheese arrives at our door it won’t leave for yours unless it is ripe and ready for you to enjoy. We are one of the last traditional fine food stores in Ireland still cutting cheese fresh off the block.

When serving a 3 cheeseboard try a softer cheese (e.g a camembert or traditional brie), a harder cheese (e.g Mossfield mature or Comté) and a blue cheese (St. Agur or Cambozola)

When serving a 5 cheeseboard, try the same as above and add something new (e.g. a Roquefort blue aged in French Southern caves or Old Amsterdam, a robust and smooth Dutch cheese)

Serve with a selection of:

• Seasonal fresh fruits (apple, plum, pear, grapes, figs and berries)
• Dried fruits (apricots, dates, cranberries)
• Nuts (pecans – candied are even better, almonds and walnuts)
• A whole roasted garlic bulb
• Charcuterie (pâté, cured meat, rillettes)
• High-quality cheese cracker (sourdough crispbread, rye/ wheat/ charcoal cracker)
• Traditional French baguette (lean dough and crispy crust).
• Check out Le Fournil!

Cheese can be high in salt and fat with pungent flavours and robust properties and you want to make sure you choose the right beverage to compliment your selection.

Check out Wine Buff!

Red wine: Bolder, more intense red wines will compliment aged, stronger and more robust cheeses. Shropshire blue, aged gouda and our seriously strong cheddar all work great with heavier red wines. If milder, more delicate cheese if your preference, choose a young, dry, lighter red!

White wine: The crispness, higher acidity, zest and freshness of a dry white wine suits many cheese varieties. White wine is often more successful at cutting through the richness of cheese and compliments creamy, nutty and robust properties.

Sherry: A traditional and successful paring partner to any cheeseboard. Sherry is a fortified wine, giving it an intense flavour and one that can stand up to the rich, fatty, salty properties of your cheese.

Port wine: Stilton and port, a classic combination. The sweet, fruity and rich flavours of a Port can stand up the savoury, salty tang of the cheese. Port is a seasonal tipple but can make a wonderful pairing to your cheeseboard all year round.

Ice wine: An ideal beverage pairing with your cheeseboard. Ice wine will compliment cheeses with a stronger flavour. Milder cheeses can become overshadowed by its sweetness and complex acidity. Blue cheeses such as St. Agur and Roquefort work wonders with ice wine!