Massive grazing board needed - what can I use?

[BluebirdBoogie]

Thinking of doing a really big grazing board for Christmas Eve, but am a bit unsure as to what to use. I was thinking of a big piece of chipboard/plywood etc but what could I cover it in?

Do you think oilcloth would work, or would that look a bit odd?

Any suggestions gratefully received!

My suggestion is to not do a massive board - from purely an hygienic POV, it’s a bit grim having everyone leaning over to grab something in the middle or at the far side! The massive ones on TicToc might look amazing, but the reality is far from amazing.
Ive done smaller boards - so a cheese one, a meats one, a veggie one, a seafood one and a fruits one. That way, vegetarians can eat off boards that aren’t vegetarian, people with dairy allergies can eat off other boards etc.

I agree with pp.

Having it all on a massive board is going to make clearing up the leftovers a complete nightmare, so I would suggest either using several smaller ones, or doing what I do, which is to use those large oval aluminium platters. Keeping stuff separate helps prevent cross-contamination, and is much better if some foods are chilled and others are room temperature/ warmed.

I agree with pps - I always find them really offputting - messy and unhygienic.

Also the advantage of smaller boards you can keep them refrigerated until needed.

You could do a large board covered in brown paper and then the smaller chopping boards would blend.

From an allergy perspective the massive boards are hell.

I would also add, don't underestimate just how long it will take you to set up!

A massive sick bowl to catch the vomit once the food poisoning hits.

I would do as others have said, lots of plates with various things on, all on one table/island if you have one. You're unlikely to eat it all, so you will need to be able to cling film and pop it in the freezer!

Agree with PPs about doing smaller boards for hygiene, convenience and allergies. Smaller boards are easier to store, to move and for aesthetics - you can just move away an empty board and rearrange others.

Yeah I wouldnt want to eat from them as they will have been out of the fridge for hours beforehand to have time to arrange. Plus hot and cold food mixed?

Make a nice cheese board, hot sausage rolls and mince pies will come out oven from being warmed up last minute

Thanks for your all your responses. When I said massive I was thinking of about 3 or 4 chopping boards sort of size. It's only me, DH and the grown up DCs, no allergies or vegetarians so can be a bit of a free for all!

A lot of it will be veg/fruit/nuts/crackers etc so only have to keep the meats in the fridge (as cheese will need to be out for at least a couple of hours to warm up).

I'll maybe just buy a couple of cheap chopping boards and push them together.

Hi @BluebirdBoogie
i always use cling film on a huge chopping board - can you use a couple?

I saw a video once from a company that does huge grazing tables. They use boxes with the food prepped within each box. Then open the boxes flat and just slide them together. Basically the kind of boxes you would get at a nice bakery if you bought a bunch of pastries, big wide and flat, but made to open all around and food safe.

from personal baking, I have bought similar boxes at baking specialty shops and online.

Ok, not so gross if it's just you and your immediate family. If just using chopping boards, brown crease proof paper would be fine for covering.