Assembling and arranging an authentic French cheese board is really pretty simple. Although, there are some guidelines that you may not know about! Not only do the French seem to care about the particular cheeses served, but also how many, how they’re arranged, and how you cut into the cheese as well!

As we were learning about France in our homeschool, we decided to put together a cheese board for our cultural meal. My highschoolers remember having fun with this when they were younger, but years ago, we didn’t do a ton of research into how exactly the French would do this. We basically just threw together a fun looking spread with typical American cheeses and enjoyed the atmosphere of it all!

Now that they are in high school, I wanted my older kids to get a more authentic experience and education. So instead of just going for atmosphere, I researched how exactly the French put together a cheese board. Then I had each of my highschoolers design & assemble their own boards for our dinner. They had so much fun with this, and we all learned quite a bit! So here I’m going to share a few key things that will help you if you want to make a cheese board the French way!

2 cheese platter photos side by side. — My 15 year old son arranged the board on left and my 17 year old daughter arranged the board on the right. We used fig jam and definitely recommend!

Things to note about a french cheese board:

1.) A French cheese board is not a charcuterie board. Charcuterie in French means cured meat, so if there is no meat, then it is simple a cheese board.

2.) The French prefer to use cheese made from farms, not factories (think goat cheese)

3.) When you’re serving your cheese platter, determines what should be paired with it.

As an appetizer: You’ll pair with just bread.
As an apéro or dinner (main course): You’ll serve with all the extras of bread and sweet and salty foods.
As an after dinner, before dessert palate cleanser; You’ll leave out the salty treats and serve with something sweet like grapes.

4.) Cheese etiquette is expected in France! Watch this video for more on that!

what is needed for a french cheese board?

3-7 different types of cheese
At least 2 different sweet foods
At least 1 salty food
A couple of different breads or crackers

Watch this fun video about making the perfect French cheese board.

What kind of cheese to pick?

Soft cheese (e.g. camembert or brie)
Hard cheese (e.g. gruyere, gouda)
Goat cheese
Blue cheese

You’ll want to pick at least 3 different cheeses. Always keep the number of cheeses an odd number, mostly for aesthetic purposes.

Sweet foods that pair nicely with cheese:

Grapes
Apple sclices
Figs
Raisins
Fig jam
Honey

Pick only a couple of different sweet foods to serve on your board.

Salty foods for a cheese board:

Olives
Nuts (pistachios, peanuts, almonds)
Salted butter

Again, you’ll want to just choose 1 or 2 salty foods to serve.

Breads:

A fresh French baguette
A crusty sourdough loaf
A rye bread
Anything with a nice crust on it will work

Instructions for assembling a cheese board:

Pick at least 3-5 different cheeses, (up to 7 if making a large board) with varying shapes & textures.
Remove them from fridge at least an hour before serving.
Arrange cheeses clockwise, from softer to harder, leaving strongest flavors last.
Arrange the sweet and salty treats around the cheeses, along with bread.
Be artistic and have fun with designing your cheese board!

A cheese platter with grapes and crackers in a wooden serving board.

Tips for serving:

Cut a few slices into each cheese to invite your guests to cut into them the correct way.

Watch this video on how to cut into the cheeses correctly.

A French cheese board is typically served with wine, but sparkling grape juice is also fun for kids!