How can I create an attractive cheese platter?

To create a great cheese platter, let your imagination run wild!  One piece of advice is to arrange several varieties of different cheeses, with varying shapes, colours, tastes and types.  For example, you could use a hard cheese, a cheese with a bloomy rind, another one with a washed rind, a slice of brie and, if you like cheeses with character: a blue cheese.  Looking at our product range, we would suggest a slice of Casse-Croûte de Val-Dieu as a hard cheese, accompanied by a smooth “Fleur de Fagne” with a bloomy rind, and also a Pékèt-ripened Herve, or a mature Herve l’Exquis for lovers of traditional cheeses, a slice of Belgian brie to please young and old alike, and finally, a Bleu des Moines.  But there’s more to come!  Think about the look you want to create and place your cheeses on a slate or a piece of wood, for example.  You can put little name tags on your cheeses so that everyone can discover interesting new tastes; or you could collect some wild flowers which are a perfect decoration for your cheese plate.  And of course, you can add some edible decoration in the shape of little bread rolls made with nuts or apricots, or by placing dried fruits here and there, and fresh fruit such as grapes, figs, pineapple.  Other fruits in jam or syrup are perfect partners for Herve cheese PDO.  You can also arrange your cheeses on your platter by strength of taste, and let your guests know that it’s best to eat them in this order, so as to get the full effect of the subtle taste of a mild cheese before trying a strong blue cheese or a fully matured washed rind cheese.