Boards laden with cheese, charcuterie, colorful produce, and artful garnishes have become an Instagram standby, but for food stylist Meg Quinn (@ainttooproudtomeg) boards have long been a way of life. “If this charcuterie and cheese board movement is a trend, I was probably one of first,” she says. “But the funny thing is, it’s timeless. It’s been around for years, but you’re seeing it more often, and people are seeing the beauty of it.”
Falling for Cheeseboards
Quinn describes her journey to becoming a food stylist and content creator as “a winding path.” “I was in advertising for many years,” she says. “By all means I was pretty successful—I produced a Super Bowl commercial—but I was not creatively fulfilled.”
As she contemplated a career in interior design, one of Quinn’s coworkers suggested that she start posting photos of her apartment on the Internet, to show how she styled things. She took his advice, but what resonated with her audience the most wasn’t her decor—it was her cheeseboards. “I love to have people over, and cheeseboards are always how I entertain. There’s no need to cook, and they’re gorgeous. I would take a picture of it, post it on Instagram, and that became what had the most traction—people asked questions about it, so I listened to my audience and made a concentrated effort to make [my social media presence] a resource.”
The Cheese Board Deck
Today, Quinn shares photos and videos of her meticulously arranged boards with nearly 300,000 Instagram followers and the readers of her blog, Ain’t Too Proud to Meg. There’s a strong educational component to her work, with content including tutorials, recipes, and cheese pairing tips, and making the leap to traditional publishing seemed like a natural step.
“Ever since I got started, people said, ‘When are you coming up with the book?’” Quinn explains. “I considered it for years, but there are plenty of cheeseboard books out there and they did a great job. I hadn’t the cracked code of how to do it that was different.”
Eventually, she hit upon the idea of creating the Cheese Board Deck: 50 cards printed with a full-color board photo on one side and the ingredients, instructions, and simple recipes on the other. “You can take it to the cheesemonger or Trader Joe’s while you’re shopping, and then have it on the counter while you build the board.” That portability makes the deck an approachable, practical resource, in the same vein as Quinn’s Internet presence.
The cheese boards in the deck range from classics, like a burrata board and a baked brie board, to the unexpected, like the “Pssst…It’s Vegan” board. The deck also riffs on the board concept with ingredients beyond cheese, including cards for a bagel brunch spread, sushi night, and a Galentine’s Day-themed candy board.
Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive—“People are talking about how easy it is to use in terms of taking it to the grocery store. I wasn’t sure if people would actually use it like that, so for that vision to come to life was really cool.”
Meg Quinn with DECK photo credit Stephanie Day
Meg Quinn’s Cheeseboard Tips
For those who want to build a cheese board but don’t know where to start, Quinn’s top tip is to serve a variety of cheeses. “Mimolette is one of my favorite cheeses—I will pair something like that with Trader Joe’s aged cheddar, which is a crowd-pleaser. Make sure you have an entry-level cheese, so guests can work their way up to something that’s more unfamiliar.” (Editor’s note: Cheddar is one of 9 cheeses we recommend from Trader Joe’s)
“You want to use a variety of cheeses, high and low end, I’ll do a mix of hard and soft, aged and fresh, and then within that different types of milk: goat’s, sheep’s, cow’s,” she continues. “Then take a step back, and look at all the boards I’ve created—they’re all very colorful. Adding fruit and fresh herbs makes it something that people are more excited to dig into.”
Ultimately Quinn reassuring tone is the best advice of all, “Serve a cheese you love and add some produce, and you’ll be in a good place.”
Looking for more cheeseboard advice? Check out What’s the Difference Between a Charcuterie Board and Cheese Board?, and The 5 Steps to Making a Stunningly Beautiful Cheese Board.