How to assemble the perfect Christmas cheeseboard to impress your guests

It’s all about product and presentation, writes Kate Ryan

How to put a good cheeseboard together?

Whenever I select cheeses for my festive cheese board, I recall this quote from the kings of Irish cheesemongers, Kevin and Seamus Sheridan: “Genuine farmhouse cheese is one of the few products where the link between real people and real places is intricate to its value. It allows us to taste, to eat and to share food, to be a part of a process, the last link in a long chain. The full pleasure built into the atoms of the cheese carries the story of the fields, the animals, the hand and the history that brought it to our mouths. To share in this is a real pleasure.” Counter Culture. The Sheridans Guide to Cheese.

From just one main ingredient, milk, a little rennet and a fair amount of time, come so many different expressions of cheese each with their own personality. The foods we select to share with our nearest and dearest should tell a story, and the cheeseboard will always be part of that.