Here's How To Make A Perfect Cheese Plate And Look Like You're Fancy AF

Very gouda.

Cheese plates are hands-down one of the greatest culinary experiences of all time.

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When you walk into a party and see one, you know you're in for a good time. But if you're more of a Kraft Singles and Jatz type person, knowing how to put together an ace cheese board for a party can be pretty intimidating.

BuzzFeed Life spoke to cheesemonger Hugh Nicholas from North Sydney's Cheese Etc. to learn how to create perfect cheese harmony without too much stress.

1. Keep it really simple.

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If you're standing in the cheese aisle with no clue what to get, Hugh says it's always a good idea to choose a soft, a hard, and a blue. "Just try to get a variety of flavours and textures."

2. Always include varieties to cater to everyone's different tastes.

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"Keep it interesting by adding on a different animal like goats cheese or fresh sheep curd," says Hugh. "Then also have a blue if you want a strong-flavoured cheese. Encompass all the flavours and have different textures, too."

3. It's totally possible to make a great cheese board using produce from your normal grocery store.

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See if you can get the cheese cut straight from the wheel. "You don't know how long the pre-cut one has been in the package, and some are actually aged in the plastic," says Hugh. "This stops them from breathing properly, so they're going to be a substandard cheese." If you can't get it freshly cut, try to get smaller individual wheels.

4. Keep it simple with a hunk of fresh, crusty baguette, or just serve the cheese on its own.

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"It's a very Australian thing to need crackers every time you have cheese," Hugh says. Europeans keep it easy by just slicing cheese and eating it on its own, especially with hard cheeses.

5. If you decide to use crackers, make sure they're flavourless.

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"You don't want the cracker to overpower the cheese or influence the flavour," says Hugh. That being said, crackers with cumin or rosemary, or seeds like caraway are really great as well for enhancing the cheese flavour.

6. Blue cheese goes well with sweet biscuits.

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It sounds nuts, but a scotch finger or digestive biscuit is perfect with a blue, to undercut the strong salty cheese.

7. Fresh fruit goes really well with cheese.

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Sliced apples are a great palate cleanser, while soft cheeses go really well with strawberries, and figs with blue cheese.

8. Something acidic goes well with cheddar.

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If you're incorporating a strong cheddar on your board, also add pickled onions, nuts, or cucumber.

9. Set out your plate so the flavours that go together are next to each other.

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"People are going to be drawn to an area, to a cheese that they like. Chances are, they're going to take what's around that." So put the crackers, the fruit, or the paste that complements a certain cheese right near it. Be sure to also set out a different knife for each cheese.

10. Leave out your cheese an hour before you plan to eat it.

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"Cheese likes to be at room temperature. It's all about the oils, which carry a lot of the flavour, and the fats. Once you get those up to room temperature, you've got a lot more going on." If it's a hot day and you're outside, maybe cover it with a damp tea towel until you're ready to get into it.

11. You can save your leftover cheese - if you do it right!

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"Cling wrap suffocates cheese," says Hugh. "It's a living thing that needs to breathe!" So wrap your cheese in wax paper or baking paper before covering it in plastic. That'll help keep the flavour intact.