California Cheese Centerpiece – Rectangular

1. Prepare and cut down your foam to fit inside of your tray. Wrap foam in plastic wrap to protect the food content from making contact.

2. Now you can start assembling your centerpiece. Start from the outer corners and work your way to the center.

3. Use a bulk of the leafy garnishments (like the bay leaf stems, olive leaf stems, sage, kale bunches and artichokes) on the outer corners. These are not necessarily intended to be eaten but instead used to create a frame for the centerpiece. Pierce the stems into the foam. If needed you can trim the bottom of the stem in a diagonal direction to create a more pokey end OR use a toothpick to pierce a hole in the spot you want to insert the stems.

4. From there, use toothpicks to secure cheese wedges, fruits and veggies into the foam. Because this is a longer centerpiece, use similarly shaped produce that are kind of rectangular in shape like the mini corn, mini zucchini and snap peas, plus longer cut wedges of California cheeses.

5. Use larger fruit pieces like apples, citrus or pears to fill in the centerpiece and create some volume and depth.

6. For best visual appeal, use hanging types of fruit like grapes and flowers like amaranth near the edges so when secured into the foam, it drapes over the edges for drama, PRO TIP: Use bamboo “U” shaped toothpicks to secure the stems of grapes into the foam, it’s much easier than a traditional toothpick.

7. Take any of the smaller garnish pieces like lavender, chive flowers, rosemary ends, and loose leaves to fill in the spaces in between all the items.

Prepared in partnership with Jessica Lawrenz @mongermoldandmilk