I work at a place that sells wine and cheese. We've done a few cheese
platters. We'd like to do more. So far, a cheese platter is a few
types of cheese, maybe a blue, a soft, a chevre and something nicely
aged and hard, cut into squares and arranged on a platter with a bunch
of grapes, some green fresh herbs, little toothpicks, etc. In other
words, BORING. We want something gorgeous, wowza, some design element
in the presentation that's unmistakeably ours (though we don't mind
stealing an idea from someone else) and spectacular. Any ideas? We
have access to normal ingredients from the supermarket. Everything on
the platter doesn't have to be edible. It just has to look attractive
and classy.


--Lia

>Julia Altshuler
>
>I work at a place that sells wine and cheese. We've done a few cheese
>platters. We'd like to do more. So far, a cheese platter is a few
>types of cheese, maybe a blue, a soft, a chevre and something nicely
>aged and hard, cut into squares and arranged on a platter with a bunch
>of grapes, some green fresh herbs, little toothpicks, etc. In other
>words, BORING. We want something gorgeous, wowza, some design element
>in the presentation that's unmistakeably ours (though we don't mind
>stealing an idea from someone else) and spectacular. Any ideas? We
>have access to normal ingredients from the supermarket. Everything on
>the platter doesn't have to be edible. It just has to look attractive
>and classy.

I'll assume you're serving cheese already cut into cubes each impaled by a
toothpic, because they are samples for customers, otherwise that's about the
tackiest way to serve cheese, in fact it's downright rude, to the cheese.
Typically cheese is served as an entire piece, large enough to be representive
of how the entire cheese actually appears in nature, with a cheese knife, folks
slice their own... but there is no law says a cheese host/ess can't do the
honors. There really is no fancy way to present cheese, the more plainly
presented the more spectacular. Ideally each cheese is served by itself on
it's own well wrought board acompanied by an appropriate knife for that type of
cheese... save your artistic ability for the baskets of crackers... if you are
really, really serious about properly presenting good cheese then the
accompaniment of Champagne and Beluga is absolutely manditory.


---= BOYCOTT FRANCE (belgium) GERMANY--SPAIN =---
---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =---
*********
"Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."
Sheldon
````````````

>Julia Altshuler
>
>I work at a place that sells wine and cheese. We've done a few cheese
>platters. We'd like to do more. So far, a cheese platter is a few
>types of cheese, maybe a blue, a soft, a chevre and something nicely
>aged and hard, cut into squares and arranged on a platter with a bunch
>of grapes, some green fresh herbs, little toothpicks, etc. In other
>words, BORING. We want something gorgeous, wowza, some design element
>in the presentation that's unmistakeably ours (though we don't mind
>stealing an idea from someone else) and spectacular. Any ideas? We
>have access to normal ingredients from the supermarket. Everything on
>the platter doesn't have to be edible. It just has to look attractive
>and classy.

I'll assume you're serving cheese already cut into cubes each impaled by a
toothpic, because they are samples for customers, otherwise that's about the
tackiest way to serve cheese, in fact it's downright rude, to the cheese.
Typically cheese is served as an entire piece, large enough to be representive
of how the entire cheese actually appears in nature, with a cheese knife, folks
slice their own... but there is no law says a cheese host/ess can't do the
honors. There really is no fancy way to present cheese, the more plainly
presented the more spectacular. Ideally each cheese is served by itself on
it's own well wrought board acompanied by an appropriate knife for that type of
cheese... save your artistic ability for the baskets of crackers... if you are
really, really serious about properly presenting good cheese then the
accompaniment of Champagne and Beluga is absolutely manditory.


---= BOYCOTT FRANCE (belgium) GERMANY--SPAIN =---
---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =---
*********
"Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."
Sheldon
````````````

Julia Altshuler wrote:

> I work at a place that sells wine and cheese. We've done a few cheese
> platters. We'd like to do more. So far, a cheese platter is a few
> types of cheese, maybe a blue, a soft, a chevre and something nicely
> aged and hard, cut into squares and arranged on a platter with a bunch
> of grapes, some green fresh herbs, little toothpicks, etc.

Well, that's pretty much what I expect when I want a cheese platter, a
plate of cheese. You can add other fruit/vegetables like cherry
tomatoes, celery sticks, or even crackers, but the star is supposed to
be the cheese.

Perhaps what you are looking to do is gift baskets? A couple of wrapped
cheeses, some crackers, a cute little cheese knife and a bottle of
complimentary wine arranged in an attractive basket....



Dawn

Julia Altshuler wrote:

> I work at a place that sells wine and cheese. We've done a few cheese
> platters. We'd like to do more. So far, a cheese platter is a few
> types of cheese, maybe a blue, a soft, a chevre and something nicely
> aged and hard, cut into squares and arranged on a platter with a bunch
> of grapes, some green fresh herbs, little toothpicks, etc.

Well, that's pretty much what I expect when I want a cheese platter, a
plate of cheese. You can add other fruit/vegetables like cherry
tomatoes, celery sticks, or even crackers, but the star is supposed to
be the cheese.

Perhaps what you are looking to do is gift baskets? A couple of wrapped
cheeses, some crackers, a cute little cheese knife and a bottle of
complimentary wine arranged in an attractive basket....



Dawn

Thanks for all the replies. I should clarify.


We do gift baskets, but they're different. They have the little jars of
mustard and marinade with the bottle of wine and all the cute bows and
cellophane and decorative "hay."


We also do cheese tasting in the shop where the employee (me) gives the
customers tastes and talks about the cheese while cutting it up. For
that, the cheese is not pre-cut.


I'm talking about the cheese platter. This is meant to be consumed at
the moment and thus is cut into squares ahead of time. It has to look
beautiful while being easily accessible to people who have a glass of
wine in one hand and who might be wandering around the room schmoozing
with others. There's no employee or hostess standing behind the platter.


With that in mind, I like the fruit sculpture idea the best. I used to
know how to do those way back when and could surely sharpen my skills
with practice. I also like presenting some sort of dip that goes with
cheese in a cut vegetable.


It will be hard/expensive to put fresh flowers and herbs on a cheese
tray this time of year, but come spring, I can't wait to put edible
nasturtiums and big sprigs of basil and tarragon all over the platters.


Thanks again.


--Lia

Julia Altshuler wrote:
>
> I work at a place that sells wine and cheese. We've done a few cheese
> platters. We'd like to do more. So far, a cheese platter is a few
> types of cheese, maybe a blue, a soft, a chevre and something nicely
> aged and hard, cut into squares and arranged on a platter with a bunch
> of grapes, some green fresh herbs, little toothpicks, etc. In other
> words, BORING. We want something gorgeous, wowza, some design element
> in the presentation that's unmistakeably ours (though we don't mind
> stealing an idea from someone else) and spectacular. Any ideas? We
> have access to normal ingredients from the supermarket. Everything on
> the platter doesn't have to be edible. It just has to look attractive
> and classy.
>
> --Lia

First of all don't cut the cheese into squares because that's always
boring. Keep the respective cheeses whole or in sizeable sections. Let
the customer do the cutting at home/ on site. Can you include a 'proper'
cheese knife in the cost?

What sort of platter is used for the base? That could be interesting in
itself. Check your local restaurant supply.

A traditional presentation is on grape leaves. UK shops sell fake leaves
specifically for cheese platters. Can you get such a thing for your
shop? Or the green plastic bamboo leaves sold in an Asian shop?

Use other fruits too: apples and pears go well with many cheeses. Can
add other seasonal things such as dates and figs.

Include savoury biscuits/crackers or a couple of crisp baguettes.

Radish roses or similar edible decorations.

Arri London > wrote in :

>
>
> Julia Altshuler wrote:
>>
>> I work at a place that sells wine and cheese. We've done a few cheese
>> platters. We'd like to do more. So far, a cheese platter is a few
>> types of cheese, maybe a blue, a soft, a chevre and something nicely
>> aged and hard, cut into squares and arranged on a platter with a bunch
>> of grapes, some green fresh herbs, little toothpicks, etc. In other
>> words, BORING. We want something gorgeous, wowza, some design element
>> in the presentation that's unmistakeably ours (though we don't mind
>> stealing an idea from someone else) and spectacular. Any ideas? We
>> have access to normal ingredients from the supermarket. Everything on
>> the platter doesn't have to be edible. It just has to look attractive
>> and classy.
>>
>> --Lia

There are some small cookie cutters out there. Possibly use some of them to
make more appealing shapes of the cheese blocks. I have a very small set of
cookie cutters shaped after the suits in playing cards for example.


--
Starchless in Manitoba.

On Thu, 11 Nov 2004 02:44:03 GMT, Hahabogus >
wrote:

>Arri London > wrote in :
>
>>
>>
>> Julia Altshuler wrote:
>>>
>>> I work at a place that sells wine and cheese. We've done a few cheese
>>> platters. We'd like to do more. So far, a cheese platter is a few
>>> types of cheese, maybe a blue, a soft, a chevre and something nicely
>>> aged and hard, cut into squares and arranged on a platter with a bunch
>>> of grapes, some green fresh herbs, little toothpicks, etc. In other
>>> words, BORING. We want something gorgeous, wowza, some design element
>>> in the presentation that's unmistakeably ours (though we don't mind
>>> stealing an idea from someone else) and spectacular. Any ideas? We
>>> have access to normal ingredients from the supermarket. Everything on
>>> the platter doesn't have to be edible. It just has to look attractive
>>> and classy.
>>>
>>> --Lia
>
>There are some small cookie cutters out there. Possibly use some of them to
>make more appealing shapes of the cheese blocks. I have a very small set of
>cookie cutters shaped after the suits in playing cards for example.

I have a tin of very small, leaf shaped cutters that I bought in the
pastry/baking section of a cookery store for cutting out pastry shapes
to decorate pie shells, tarts, etc. They're roughly 1 1/2" w and l and
they're fairly sharp. I've used them to cut cheese (not the hard
cheeses such as parmesean, but the softer ones such as cheddars) for
pretty cheese platters and they work really well. There are 7 leaf
patterns in all, IIRC (too lazy to go look).

Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd
AAC(F)BV66.0748.CA


"If the soup had been as hot as the claret, if the claret had been as
old as the bird, and if the bird's breasts had been as full as the
waitress's, it would have been a very good dinner."

-- Duncan Hines

To reply, replace "spaminator" with "cox"

Terry Pulliam Burd wrote:

> I have a tin of very small, leaf shaped cutters that I bought in the
> pastry/baking section of a cookery store for cutting out pastry shapes
> to decorate pie shells, tarts, etc.

Anyone know if Williams Sonoma still sells fake autumn leaves. They
are awfully pretty.

nancy

Terry Pulliam Burd wrote:

> I have a tin of very small, leaf shaped cutters that I bought in the
> pastry/baking section of a cookery store for cutting out pastry shapes
> to decorate pie shells, tarts, etc.

Anyone know if Williams Sonoma still sells fake autumn leaves. They
are awfully pretty.

nancy

Terry Pulliam Burd wrote:

> I have a tin of very small, leaf shaped cutters that I bought in the
> pastry/baking section of a cookery store for cutting out pastry shapes
> to decorate pie shells, tarts, etc. They're roughly 1 1/2" w and l and
> they're fairly sharp. I've used them to cut cheese (not the hard
> cheeses such as parmesean, but the softer ones such as cheddars) for
> pretty cheese platters and they work really well. There are 7 leaf
> patterns in all, IIRC (too lazy to go look).


This is a good idea. I'm going in to work shortly and don't know if I'm
in charge of today's cheese platter or not. I may be in charge of a
later one. I'll see what I can do with the shape of the cut cheese. I
like Nancy's idea of the fake leaves too. I'll have to check that out.


The question at the moment is how to charge for the platter. I don't
think it is a big deal to weigh the cheese, charge for it normally as we
do when customers buy it by the pound and not on a platter, then tack on
a presentation fee for the fact that we've arranged it nicely and gotten
it ready for pick-up. But my boss has asked about this a few times now
so I'm not sure what she's getting at. I think she wants to be able to
quote a price before weighing the cheese, have some sort of per person
formula.


--Lia

Terry Pulliam Burd wrote:

> I have a tin of very small, leaf shaped cutters that I bought in the
> pastry/baking section of a cookery store for cutting out pastry shapes
> to decorate pie shells, tarts, etc. They're roughly 1 1/2" w and l and
> they're fairly sharp. I've used them to cut cheese (not the hard
> cheeses such as parmesean, but the softer ones such as cheddars) for
> pretty cheese platters and they work really well. There are 7 leaf
> patterns in all, IIRC (too lazy to go look).


This is a good idea. I'm going in to work shortly and don't know if I'm
in charge of today's cheese platter or not. I may be in charge of a
later one. I'll see what I can do with the shape of the cut cheese. I
like Nancy's idea of the fake leaves too. I'll have to check that out.


The question at the moment is how to charge for the platter. I don't
think it is a big deal to weigh the cheese, charge for it normally as we
do when customers buy it by the pound and not on a platter, then tack on
a presentation fee for the fact that we've arranged it nicely and gotten
it ready for pick-up. But my boss has asked about this a few times now
so I'm not sure what she's getting at. I think she wants to be able to
quote a price before weighing the cheese, have some sort of per person
formula.


--Lia

On Fri, 12 Nov 2004 22:08:22 -0500, Nancy Young >
wrote:

>Terry Pulliam Burd wrote:
>
>> I have a tin of very small, leaf shaped cutters that I bought in the
>> pastry/baking section of a cookery store for cutting out pastry shapes
>> to decorate pie shells, tarts, etc.
>
>Anyone know if Williams Sonoma still sells fake autumn leaves. They
>are awfully pretty.
>
They used to sell the paper grape leaves.... haven't looked for them
in the recent past, though.

On Sat, 13 Nov 2004 15:17:46 GMT, Julia Altshuler
> wrote:

>But my boss has asked about this a few times now
>so I'm not sure what she's getting at. I think she wants to be able to
>quote a price before weighing the cheese, have some sort of per person
>formula.
>
>
I wouldn't be doing the bosses job for her, Lia. She's paid to do
that sort of stuff, you aren't.

If she wants to pay you appropriately, then go ahead and figure this
out.... it's not too hard. Call a couple of caterers, get the platter
rate from Safeway/Albertson's, compare them to your prices for the
same cheeses and you'll figure out what the average charge is for
"arranging the platter".

On Sat, 13 Nov 2004 15:17:46 GMT, Julia Altshuler
> wrote:

>But my boss has asked about this a few times now
>so I'm not sure what she's getting at. I think she wants to be able to
>quote a price before weighing the cheese, have some sort of per person
>formula.
>
>
I wouldn't be doing the bosses job for her, Lia. She's paid to do
that sort of stuff, you aren't.

If she wants to pay you appropriately, then go ahead and figure this
out.... it's not too hard. Call a couple of caterers, get the platter
rate from Safeway/Albertson's, compare them to your prices for the
same cheeses and you'll figure out what the average charge is for
"arranging the platter".

sf wrote:

> I wouldn't be doing the bosses job for her, Lia. She's paid to do
> that sort of stuff, you aren't.
>
> If she wants to pay you appropriately, then go ahead and figure this
> out.... it's not too hard. Call a couple of caterers, get the platter
> rate from Safeway/Albertson's, compare them to your prices for the
> same cheeses and you'll figure out what the average charge is for
> "arranging the platter".


No, it isn't like that. The bosses are nice people who give the
employees a thousand perks. We're trusted, can drink on the job when
the salespeople come in handing out tastes, are expected to eat lots of
cheese so we know what we're selling to the customers and basically were
hired for and are depended on for knowing more about the food end of the
business. Mr. Boss knows tons about wine and cheese. Mrs. Boss is
great with merchandise like packaged cute items of chocolate and
crackers. I got the job for having culinary experience and knowing
things like how to make a platter look pretty. We've got employees
knowing more about how to clean the back areas than the bosses so they
let us do it and take our advice on cleaning products and schedules.
Three of the women with long hair put in a request for a uniform cap to
tie our hair up in, and we got it. The bosses wouldn't have cared if we
wore our hair down, but we didn't feel right so we explained the
problem, talked about a style that men could wear too and got our caps.


So I'm glad to do some pricing if I know how.


By the way, I made orange crowns for the platter today, and they turned
out well enough to use. I didn't have the right knife, and I need
practice, but they weren't half bad. I was very pleased.


--Lia

My favorite fruit/cheese combination is watermelon & bleu. The
watermelon is cut in pie shaped wedges about two inches wide and three
to four inches long and a half an inch thick. The green rind is left
on. Then a triangle of blue cheese (Stilton, Gorgonzola - whatever) is
centered on the melon. The whole thing is picked up and eaten in about
two bites - the green/white rind is discarded.

Also consider Apple slices with cheddar, wedges of pear with gouda.
The trick is to match the shape of the fruit with the shape of the
cheese. Encourage folks to try the fruit and cheese TOGETHER. :-)

Lynn from Fargo

My favorite fruit/cheese combination is watermelon & bleu. The
watermelon is cut in pie shaped wedges about two inches wide and three
to four inches long and a half an inch thick. The green rind is left
on. Then a triangle of blue cheese (Stilton, Gorgonzola - whatever) is
centered on the melon. The whole thing is picked up and eaten in about
two bites - the green/white rind is discarded.

Also consider Apple slices with cheddar, wedges of pear with gouda.
The trick is to match the shape of the fruit with the shape of the
cheese. Encourage folks to try the fruit and cheese TOGETHER. :-)

Lynn from Fargo

Julia Altshuler > wrote in message news:<67xld.93937$R05.16158@attbi_s53>...

Here in California the persimmons are in full season - gorgeous and
colorful. Can you get those where you are? Perhaps not so cost
effective. ARound here, in East Oakland, they fall off people's trees.
If you see "organic" persimmons for sale in the market, you know some
entrepreneurial hausfrau just sold her back yard production to the
equally entrepreneurial produce guy.

Back to your question - along with figs and autumn fruit, how about
nuts in the shell, like Brazil nuts, pecans, almonds etc.? Of course
they're still not cheap...And in another couple of weeks we'll be
seeing gorgeous citrus - tangerines, blood oranges. The navel oranges
and Texas ruby grapefruit are already in.

Leila

Julia Altshuler > wrote in message news:<67xld.93937$R05.16158@attbi_s53>...

Here in California the persimmons are in full season - gorgeous and
colorful. Can you get those where you are? Perhaps not so cost
effective. ARound here, in East Oakland, they fall off people's trees.
If you see "organic" persimmons for sale in the market, you know some
entrepreneurial hausfrau just sold her back yard production to the
equally entrepreneurial produce guy.

Back to your question - along with figs and autumn fruit, how about
nuts in the shell, like Brazil nuts, pecans, almonds etc.? Of course
they're still not cheap...And in another couple of weeks we'll be
seeing gorgeous citrus - tangerines, blood oranges. The navel oranges
and Texas ruby grapefruit are already in.

Leila

Leila A. wrote:
> Julia Altshuler > wrote in message news:<67xld.93937$R05.16158@attbi_s53>...
>
> Here in California the persimmons are in full season - gorgeous and
> colorful. Can you get those where you are? Perhaps not so cost
> effective. ARound here, in East Oakland, they fall off people's trees.
> If you see "organic" persimmons for sale in the market, you know some
> entrepreneurial hausfrau just sold her back yard production to the
> equally entrepreneurial produce guy.
>
> Back to your question - along with figs and autumn fruit, how about
> nuts in the shell, like Brazil nuts, pecans, almonds etc.? Of course
> they're still not cheap...And in another couple of weeks we'll be
> seeing gorgeous citrus - tangerines, blood oranges. The navel oranges
> and Texas ruby grapefruit are already in.


Here in New England, the long dark days in the produce section are
beginning. The situation isn't nearly as bad as it was a generation
ago, but it can still be pretty bad compared to California. All winter
we can depend on excellent citrus and a representation of other fruits
and vegetables but nothing in that tastes ripe and fabulous. Right now
we still have local apples and pears. I like the idea of nuts. They're
a natural with cheese, look good and are available.


I have a few days off. When I go in again, I can see what the reception
was to my orange crowns. They might be the ticket all winter since
they're available, look fancy and are inexpensive. I'll keep persimmons
in mind. I see them only rarely. The entrepreneurial spirit reminds me
of the way coconuts came to market in South Florida when I was little.


--Lia

Leila A. wrote:
> Julia Altshuler > wrote in message news:<67xld.93937$R05.16158@attbi_s53>...
>
> Here in California the persimmons are in full season - gorgeous and
> colorful. Can you get those where you are? Perhaps not so cost
> effective. ARound here, in East Oakland, they fall off people's trees.
> If you see "organic" persimmons for sale in the market, you know some
> entrepreneurial hausfrau just sold her back yard production to the
> equally entrepreneurial produce guy.
>
> Back to your question - along with figs and autumn fruit, how about
> nuts in the shell, like Brazil nuts, pecans, almonds etc.? Of course
> they're still not cheap...And in another couple of weeks we'll be
> seeing gorgeous citrus - tangerines, blood oranges. The navel oranges
> and Texas ruby grapefruit are already in.


Here in New England, the long dark days in the produce section are
beginning. The situation isn't nearly as bad as it was a generation
ago, but it can still be pretty bad compared to California. All winter
we can depend on excellent citrus and a representation of other fruits
and vegetables but nothing in that tastes ripe and fabulous. Right now
we still have local apples and pears. I like the idea of nuts. They're
a natural with cheese, look good and are available.


I have a few days off. When I go in again, I can see what the reception
was to my orange crowns. They might be the ticket all winter since
they're available, look fancy and are inexpensive. I'll keep persimmons
in mind. I see them only rarely. The entrepreneurial spirit reminds me
of the way coconuts came to market in South Florida when I was little.


--Lia

On Sat, 13 Nov 2004 15:23:15 -0800, sf > wrote:

>On Fri, 12 Nov 2004 22:08:22 -0500, Nancy Young >
>wrote:

>Anyone know if Williams Sonoma still sells fake autumn leaves. They
>are awfully pretty.

They're called French leaves:

http://www.addedtouchstore.com/prodi...ber=6169U&S=GA

Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd
AAC(F)BV66.0748.CA


"If the soup had been as hot as the claret, if the claret had been as
old as the bird, and if the bird's breasts had been as full as the
waitress's, it would have been a very good dinner."

-- Duncan Hines

To reply, replace "spaminator" with "cox"

Terry Pulliam Burd > wrote in message >. ..
> I have a tin of very small, leaf shaped cutters that I bought in the
> pastry/baking section of a cookery store for cutting out pastry shapes
> to decorate pie shells, tarts, etc. They're roughly 1 1/2" w and l and
> they're fairly sharp. I've used them to cut cheese (not the hard
> cheeses such as parmesean, but the softer ones such as cheddars) for
> pretty cheese platters and they work really well. There are 7 leaf
> patterns in all, IIRC (too lazy to go look).

Pardon the followup to my own post, but I tripped over a site that has
the exact cutters to which I referred above. I found they have a whole
lot of other shapes that look fun, too:

http://fantes.com/leaves.htm

Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd
AAC(F)BV66.0748.CA


"If the soup had been as hot as the claret, if the claret had been as
old as the bird, and if the bird's breasts had been as full as the
waitress's, it would have been a very good dinner."

-- Duncan Hines

To reply, replace "spaminator" with "cox"

Terry Pulliam Burd wrote:

> They're called French leaves:
>
> http://www.addedtouchstore.com/prodi...ber=6169U&S=GA


Thanks. I know what to look for.
--Lia

Terry Pulliam Burd wrote:

> They're called French leaves:
>
> http://www.addedtouchstore.com/prodi...ber=6169U&S=GA


Thanks. I know what to look for.
--Lia

I like fruit compote type things in a little dish served alongside certain
soft, mild cheeses, for spreading. I even use homemade cranberry sauce....

-jen
Half the people you know are below average. -Steven Wright

I like fruit compote type things in a little dish served alongside certain
soft, mild cheeses, for spreading. I even use homemade cranberry sauce....

-jen
Half the people you know are below average. -Steven Wright