Save Pin I was arranging a cheese board for a dinner party when my nephew asked why everything had to be flat and boring. That question stuck with me, and I started thinking about what would happen if I stood the cheese up instead, slicing it into tall pieces. One experimental evening, I grabbed a sharp knife and began carving little silhouettes—a miniature Eiffel Tower here, a tiny Empire State Building there. By the time my friends arrived, the platter looked like an edible city skyline, and suddenly everyone was talking about the cheese instead of just eating it.
I made this for a friend's office party, and I'll never forget watching the usually quiet accountant spend ten minutes studying each cheese building before choosing which one to try first. He came back the next week asking if I could make it again for a client meeting. That's when I realized this wasn't just food—it was a tiny moment of unexpected joy in an ordinary Tuesday.
Ingredients
- Sharp cheddar, block (120 g): The backbone of any good cheese board; its bold bite keeps everything from feeling too delicate.
- Gruyère, block (120 g): Adds a slightly nutty richness that makes people pause mid-chew and wonder what they're tasting.
- Emmental, block (120 g): The creamy, gentle one of the group; it prevents the platter from tasting too intense.
- Havarti, block (120 g): This semi-soft cheese is pure magic for carving because it holds its shape but stays tender.
- Gouda, block (120 g): The sweet-savory friend that ties the whole composition together.
- Seedless grapes, 1 small bunch, washed: They anchor the skyline at ground level and add little bursts of sweetness between the cheese.
- Apple, 1 small, sliced: Fresh acidity that cuts through the richness and prevents cheese fatigue.
- Pear, 1 small, sliced: Milder than apple, it fills the gaps with subtle elegance.
- Assorted crackers, 12–16: Choose a mix of textures; some people prefer the crunch of a seed cracker over everything else.
- Honey or fig jam, 2 tbsp: The finishing touch that makes people dip everything—even the crackers alone—into the ramekin.
Instructions
- Chill your cheese blocks first:
- Pop them in the fridge for 15 to 20 minutes before slicing. Cold cheese is forgiving cheese—it cuts cleanly without crumbling and holds its shape like you actually know what you're doing.
- Slice each cheese into thin, tall pieces:
- Using a sharp knife, cut each block into vertical slices about 1 cm thick. These become your building foundations.
- Sketch out your skyline on paper:
- Before you carve, lightly trace a skyline silhouette on a piece of paper—the Eiffel Tower's triangular peak, Big Ben's Gothic clock tower, or the Empire State Building's Art Deco crown. This takes the guesswork out of cutting and makes the whole process feel less intimidating.
- Carve each cheese slice into a building:
- Use a paring knife for detailed cuts, following your paper template as a guide. Don't aim for museum-quality precision; the charm lives in the imperfect edges and the personal interpretation.
- Arrange your cheese city upright on a platter:
- Stand each carved cheese slice on its end so the silhouettes rise like a real skyline. Stagger heights and colors for visual drama.
- Fill the base with fruit:
- Scatter grapes, apple slices, and pear slices around the bottom of your buildings as if they were trees and parks nestled between skyscrapers. This adds color, breaks up the yellow and white cheese tones, and gives people something fresh to eat between bites.
- Set out crackers and the honey or fig jam:
- Arrange crackers nearby and pour the honey or jam into a small ramekin. Let everyone build their own bites.
Save Pin I learned something important that first dinner party: people don't just eat beautiful food, they experience it differently. When someone had to reach up slightly to grab a slice, when they had to think about which building to try next, when the whole platter looked like a tiny metropolis they could hold in their hand—that's when eating became a moment instead of just a reflex.
Choosing Your Cheese Mix
The beauty of a cheese skyline is that it's completely forgiving about substitutions. I've swapped in Irish cheddar when that's what the shop had, used Swiss Emmental once and another time a local aged Gouda I found at a farmers market. Each version tells a different story, and frankly, everyone loved them all equally. If you're drawn to a particular cheese, trust that instinct—the variety matters far less than choosing blocks that are firm enough to hold a shape and flavorful enough to make people linger over each bite.
Making It Your Own
Once you've made this once, you'll find yourself thinking about it differently each time. I've themed platters around cities—a Paris edition with Emmental and Gruyère as the stars, a New York version heavy on sharp cheddar. A friend made one for her daughter's architecture class project and turned it into an edible model of the skyline from their hometown. The skeleton of the recipe stays the same, but the personality shifts entirely depending on what you care about that evening.
Timing and Presentation Tips
The whole thing comes together in about 30 minutes if you work without overthinking it, which is the real secret to pulling off something that looks this considered. I usually do the carving while my oven is preheating for something else, or while friends are arriving and settling in. There's something satisfying about doing the detail work in front of people—they watch the skyline emerge and suddenly they're already invested in tasting it before a single piece hits the platter.
- Chill the cheese beforehand to make cutting smoother and less stressful.
- Use contrasting cheese colors—mix pale Emmental with deeper Gouda for maximum visual impact.
- Slice fruit right before serving so apples and pears don't oxidize and turn brown.
Save Pin This platter has become my go-to for every gathering, and I think it's because it works equally well for casual weeknight entertaining or a formal event—it's adaptable, generous, and genuinely beautiful without pretending to be anything it's not. Every time I arrange it, I smile remembering that conversation with my nephew, grateful he was bored enough to ask the right question.
Recipe FAQs
- → Which cheeses work best for shaping silhouettes?
Firm block cheeses like sharp cheddar, Gruyère, Emmental, Havarti, and Gouda provide the right texture for clean slicing and detailed shapes.
- → How can I make slicing easier?
Chill cheese blocks for 15-20 minutes before cutting to help achieve precise vertical slices without crumbling.
- → What tools are recommended for shaping cheese?
A sharp chef's knife and a paring knife are essential; small cookie cutters can assist with detailed building shapes.
- → How should I arrange the platter for best presentation?
Place the cheese slices upright to mimic a skyline, layering fruit slices and grapes at the base to add color and create a natural contrast.
- → Can this platter accommodate dietary preferences?
This platter suits vegetarian and gluten-free diets by choosing gluten-free crackers and naturally plant-based accompaniments.