Most Christmas cheese boards go wrong in the same way. Not because the cheese is bad, because there is too much of the same kind of cheese on the plate. Three mild, creamy wedges sitting next to each other look generous and taste like one long note.

After more than 30 years of making artisan cheese in West Wales, my team and I have put together a few cheese boards. Here is the formula we always come back to....

What's the best cheese for a cheeseboard?

You want five textures, not five favourites. Pick one from each of our artisan cheeses below, and the board will balance itself:

1. Something soft and mild. Perl Wen is our buttery, brie-style cheese with a fresh, clean finish and a gentle citrus note. Cenarth Brie is the richer, earthier option. Either cheese gives people somewhere easy to start.
2. Something blue. Perl Las mini is soft, creamy and approachable; a good first blue for anyone who thinks they don't like blue cheese. Perl Las Deli is the bolder sibling, buttery and smooth with a saltier blue character. It was named Best Welsh Cheese at the World Cheese Awards 2025.
3. Something hard and mature. Caws Cryf is our extra mature cheddar; with a wonderful melt-in-your-mouth creamy texture, with a long, full finish that holds its own against everything else on the board.
4.  Something extra special. Golden Cenarth is hand-washed in cider five times, which gives it that distinctive orange rind and a savoury, nutty depth. This is the one your guests will ask about.
5. Something fresh and crumbly. Thelma's Traditional Welsh Caerffili has PGI status and a light, lemony freshness that cuts through everything richer around it.

Furthermore, if you're putting a board together for the first time, our Dewis Da taster selection is a fantastic place to start. Most cheese board ideas fall down by chasing variety of flavour rather than variety of texture. Get the textures right and the flavours look after themselves.

How much cheese should you buy for your Christmas cheeseboard?

The honest answer is less than most people think, and more than most people buy. As a rough guide, allow 80–100g a person when the cheese is part of a wider spread, and around 150g when the board is the main event.

•  A board for four guests - roughly 400g across three or four cheeses.
• A board for eight guests - roughly 700–800g across five cheeses
• A board for twelve guests - around 1.2kg. At this size a whole wheel of cheese starts to make sense as the centrepiece, with smaller pieces arranged around it.

Arranging your cheese board

However you arrange the cheese board, give each cheese its own space rather than shuffling everything into the middle. A board that looks a little sparse when you set it down will look generous once people start cutting into it.

Arrange mild to strong, moving clockwise, so people can work their way round without ambushing themselves with the blue first. Give each cheese its own knife too - a blue cheese knife dragged through the brie ruins the brie.

And take the whole board out of the fridge a full hour before you serve it. Cold cheese tastes of almost nothing. This is the single easiest thing you can do to make a good board taste better, and it costs nothing.

What accompaniments do you need for a cheeseboard?

We suggest four or five things, and you don't really need more than that: something to carry it like Cradoc's Crackers, something sweet like the Fine Cheese Company Quince for Cheese; something sharp like pickled gherkins, and grapes, pear or celery for freshness. You could also add some charcuterie like Trealy Farm smoked paprika chorizo.

Roasted grapes are worth the ten minutes, particularly alongside a baked Cenarth Brie. Discover the recipe here.

When should you order your cheese for Christmas?

Earlier than feels necessary. Cheese keeps perfectly well in the fridge for the week before Christmas, and the last few days before our posting deadline are always the busiest!

You can shop the full range online, or find us at your local deli — we are stocked across Wales and beyond!