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Whether you're hosting a party or going on a picnic this summer, the trending ‘grazing board’ holds a lot of appeal: it’s simple (zero cooking required), beautiful and offers enough assortment to make sure that even your fussiest friend will find something to nibble on.


Cheesemonger Cathryn Pickei, who serves up some seriously chic food platters, shares with The Style Sheet that the key to a well-crafted spread comes down to variety. ‘The aim is to create a board that will serve any sort of craving — whether you're craving something sweet or salty, there should be something that will satisfy it. On any given board I make sure to have something bright and fresh, something crunchy, something savoury, and something to spread or dip into. For cheeses, opt for a variety of milk types, textures, and styles to keep it fun. At the end of the day though there shouldn't be any “rules” that you think you need to follow; cater to your cravings and what you like.’


Taking Cathryn’s advice onboard, The Style Sheet hits the foodie wonderland that is Great Food Hall to source the ingredients to create our own version — with a fresh, Asian-inspired twist.

1. Lay Out the Cheese

While there’s a lot more to a grazing board than cheese, the ingredient does serve as the foundation. On a wooden board, ceramic platter or a piece of slate or marble, place the cheeses around the board as key pillars, making sure there’s space between each. If any of the hard cheeses are too large, cut them into blocks first. As for which cheeses, for a well-balanced board, Cathryn suggests ‘one soft cheese, one goat's milk cheese, a washed rind cheese, and at least one hard cheese, such as an Alpine cheese’

2. Add Bowls

Place dips, spreads, pickles, relishes and jams into small bowls and place them around the platter, not too symmetrically. We opted for a red onion marmalade with chilli, a beetroot dip and edamame hummus, which we whipped up by blitzing plain hummus with fresh edamame beans.

3. Spread Out the Crunch

Spread out rolls of crackers (similar to how you’d spread out a pack of cards) tightly around the bowls and cheese. Mix it up with fine wafer crackers, breadsticks and twists. We also added in rice crackers in ode to our Asian-inspired theme, and they’re also a great addition if you’re expecting gluten-free guests. Rather than place all your crackers out, save some and top up as your guests dig in.

4. Layer In Loose Produce

This is when your board really starts to pop. Arrange fruit and vegetables in the negative space, spreading similar colours away from each other. For example, avoid putting pink dragon fruit next to the beetroot dip. We opted for a plant-based board layered with the likes of radish, apricots, sugar snap peas, dried mango and fresh passionfruit, but this is where you could add cured meats such as prosciutto and salami too.

5. Fill the Cracks

Fill in any empty spots with nuts, dark chocolate and springs of greenery like rocket or cress, which bring refreshing bite. We’ve also added Asian flair with a sprinkling of Tamari-roasted pumpkin seeds. To present the chocolate, break up a bar in uneven shards. In fact, feel free to be messy with all the ingredients — let them spill over organically. The beauty of a grazing board is in its imperfection.


Finally, dig in!



All groceries and produce featured are available from Great Food Hall.

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