How to make the perfect food platter

If you’re hosting at home and you want to impress your guests, a good looking charcuterie and cheese board will do the trick. ANDRE HUBER, Executive Director of Huber’s Butchery, gives us his cheat sheet to arranging a crowd-pleasing platter for your next gathering.

What are some things to keep in mind from the get-go?

First, keep in mind the number of guests you have, but also their dining “profiles”, so you can prevent under-catering or food wastage. If there are children around who’ll be snacking on the platter, the items should remain chilli-free. Also, make sure to check if any of your guests have nut or gluten allergens. And, whether you use a cutting board, a large plate or slate, it’s important to remember to fill it up as much as possible so that it looks appetising and Instagram-worthy!

What should I include?

Pick out three to four cheeses, including a variety of hard and soft. Pre-cut the hard cheese and leave the soft cheese whole at the corner of the platter so that it’s accessible for cutting.

For meats, portion around 50 to 80 grams of cold cuts per person. You can fold the slices in various shapes to make them look more presentable. Our recommendations are chorizo, Parma ham, bresaola (air-dried beef), meatloaf, Jamón Ibérico, salami, smoked ox tongue, and capocollo (dry-cured pork ham). For sausages, consider using landjäger (semi-dried German sausage) or biltong (South African dried cured meat). Place a few slices of terrine and some pâté in a dish. Chicken liver pâté, foie gras, country-style terrine, and duck with green peppercorn terrine are popular picks from Huber’s Butchery.

For fruit, go with seasonal and colourful options. Try blueberries, strawberries, green and black grapes, watermelon, dragonfruit, cantaloupe, rockmelon and figs.

Include two to three dips (we love our beetroot dip and rocket pesto) that you can enjoy with bread or crackers. Sliced baguette and breadsticks add a nice crunch, while plain or chocolate pretzels are great for snacking.

Don’t forget the antipasto; opt for a variety of olives, sundried tomatoes, mushrooms and artichokes. Remember to dry them out beforehand or put them into jars so that the oil doesn’t run onto the other items.

Honey works exceptionally well with cheeses. Truffle honey with blue cheese is a match made in heaven! Dried fruit and nuts like apricots, raisins and almonds are great, too.

Lastly, add some green with vegetables like carrot and celery sticks, cucumbers and spinach leaves.

What’s the best order for arranging the platter?

Start with the larger items first, such as the cheeses, honey, dips, antipasto and breadsticks. Next, plate the cold cuts, terrines and the larger pieces of fruit. Fill up the gaps with small items like blueberries, strawberries, nuts, dried fruit and crackers. Ensure you have a variety of colours that’s well spread out.

Huber’s Butchery in Singapore stocks all the groceries you need to make a beautiful charcuterie or cheese board. Visit the store or shop online!

Huber’s Butchery
22 Dempsey Road
6737 1588 | hubers.com.sg

Like this? Read more in our Wine and Dine section.

This article first appeared in the September 2020 edition of Expat Living. You can purchase a copy or subscribe so you never miss an issue!