Creating the ultimate Christmas cheeseboard

Creating the ultimate Christmas cheeseboard is something of an art, balancing sweet and savoury, creaminess and crunch, and bringing together a wonderful variety of cheeses to create mouthfuls filled with flavour, interest and delight.

Discover our top tips for creating your own festive feast to delight your friends and family this Christmas

Our festive cheeseboard essentials:

First things first 

Don't forget to take your cheeses out of the fridge at least an hour before serving, allowing them to come towards room temperature and their wonderful flavours and textures to shine. There's a world of difference between a cold Yorkshire Blue straight from the fridge and one that's been allowed to warm up, and the same goes for most cheeses.

How Much Cheese Do You Need?

Let's talk quantities! Whether you're planning a festive feast, a relaxed evening with friends or a show-stopping grazing board, a little forward planning means there's plenty for everyone without going overboard (although a little left-over cheese never hurt anyone!).

As a handy guide, we recommend:

• A little cheese after dinner: 50–75g per person
• A grazing board or festive party: 75–100g per person
• A cheese and wine evening: 100–125g per person
• When cheese is the main event: 150–200g per person

Of course, if you're entertaining a crowd of cheese lovers, there's no harm in being a little generous. And if you do have some left over, there are plenty of delicious ways to put it to good use!

We make Yorkshire Blue the star of the show

Smooth, creamy and wonderfully versatile, Yorkshire Blue is always a favourite on our Christmas cheeseboard. Or, for something a little different, why not try our Organic Yorkshire Blue this year? It was crowned Supreme Champion Cheese at the prestigious Artisan Cheese Awards last year.

Add richness and colour

Add Harrogate Blue for richness and colour, its golden body really stands out. You can also add a nutty farmhouse Cheddar, and a wildcard such as truffle Brie or Katy’s White Lavender which is our sheep milk cheese, marinated in lavender flowers.

Rule of thumb

Include at least four styles, a soft, hard, blue, and “surprise.” You can also focus on different milks which differentiate cheeses and encourage guests to explore the differences.

This year, we'll be adding Barber's 1833 Vintage Reserve Cheddar and Caws Cenarth's Golden Cenarth to balance out our board, along with anything else delicious we discover between now and Christmas!

Prepare to Pair

We serve our cheeses with a whole range of accompaniments, from chutneys and honey to figs, honeycomb, chocolate and ripe pears. But as cheesemakers, we also love letting the cheese do the talking. Sometimes it's nice to keep things simple.

Pairing ideas:

Go beyond just crackers, pile your board high with figs, dates, quince paste and crusty French bread.

Harrogate Blue x Yorkshire honey — indulgent and local. 

Mrs Bell’s Blue x dark chocolate - an unexpected but delicious mix of sweet and savoury.

Buffalo Blue x crunchy honeycomb - One of our favourites! The crunch and the sweetness contrast beautifully with the creamy savouriness of the Buffalo Blue.

Yorkshire Blue x Christmas cake - the spice and fruit complement the cheese beautifully.

A “Bluemin” good discovery

It was at Christmas time that we discovered that baking our Bluemin Whites worked so well. The whole family loved it!  It stole the show so much so that we've since gone on to create our own recipe for it which you can find here.

You don’t need to add very much because they're so flavourful already, just a little honey for sweetness perhaps and some roasted nuts for crunch. They really are delicious and perfect for when you have guests. 

Caring for cheese and using leftovers

Ideally you should keep it in its original wrapping, in the salad drawer in the fridge if bought ahead. Re-wrap with parchment paper or kitchen foil for blue cheeses if you need to or use one of our wax wraps which allows the cheese to breathe.

Bring out at least an hour before serving so it can warm to room temperature and flavours can be unleashed.

Use your leftovers to make easy nutritious meals for the rest of Christmas week. Our creamy blue cheeses are brilliant for adding to “bubble and squeak” or simple mashed potato for extra flavour.  Try stirring into pasta dishes to make a quick and easy dish, or roast with Brussels sprouts to add instant flavour and creaminess.

At Christmas, cheese is such a brilliant and thoughtful gift. Having a great selection in your fridge over the festive season will serve you in so many ways, and knowing the stories behind the cheeses will enrich your experience even further, and that’s why buying from local shops where they know the producers personally is fabulous.

You can find a local stockist near you here and discover more pairing suggestions and recipe inspiration on our website too.