Oser Communications Group

2 0 SNACKING NEWS December 2018 SNACKING NEWS SNACKING NEWS SNACKING NEWS BY GREG GONZALES Even though we don't believe in Santa Claus past a certain age, most of us can find plenty of magic in holiday cele- brations with friends, coworkers and family. There's magic in the time we finally get to spend together ex- changing stories, it's in the laughing and crying and gen- erosity ― and it's in the food we share together, especially the right cheeseboards. Done properly, the right cheese- board can make a statement at any gathering, become the topic of next year's conversation, and your customers can do just that if your store provides them the tools, boards, foods and guidance to get there. "Coming into this part of the year, we see an interest in cheeseboards so much more during the holidays," said Abby Despins, Senior Public Relations Manager at Emmi Roth. "It's a great time to do grab-and-go, like at holiday parties, so a lot of people typically do cheeseboards around this time. Great occasions are also tailgating and football. You can do a really great cheeseboard with beef sticks and snacking foods, pair it with spicy cheeses for tailgates or watching the game, and it's also amazing what you can do for a dinner party. It doesn't always have to be a big, huge celebration or major event to do it, either. It's a nice thing to put out before dinner to graze on. There are major events it works well for, but a cheeseboard is a re- ally easy thing to do for a dinner party or just having peo- ple over on a Saturday night." However, to even get started, a great cheeseboard re- quires the right tools for form and function. Despins said she often turns to a chef's knife for a lot of cheeses, but also said it's important to have the right knife for the right cheeses ― like a skeleton knife for soft cheeses like brie, camembert or Roth Monroe, a limited-production cheese that would stick to a normal blade. To avoid the sticking, a skeleton-style knife like Swissmar's Lux Cheese Knife will do the trick, featuring holes in the blade to prevent the cheese from sticking, forged construction for strength and a forked tip for serving, with an elegant black Micarta handle. Boska offers an alternative to skeleton blades from its Pro Collection called the Brie Knife Monaco, which doesn't feature holes in the blade like other soft-cheese knives but instead has a long, thin blade, made from a sin- gle piece of stainless steel. For harder cheeses, Despins recommends a cheese plane, "a kind of triangle-shaped knife with a slot in the Build a Cheeseboard and They Will Come

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