5 Ways to Build a Better Vegetable Charcuterie Board for Your Restaurant Menu

Vegetable boards are a chef’s best friend when it comes to displaying the finest of your seasonal fresh produce. Vegetable boards are naturally vibrant and colorful and need little help to impress, that is as long as you use the best quality fresh produce.

But just because vegetable boards come across as being easy and effortless, does not mean there is not a lot of work that goes into them behind the scenes.

If you are looking to up your vegetable charcuterie board game take a look at our five tips to elevate your veggie board game to the next level.

What Is A Vegetable Board?

Think of vegetable charcuterie boards as the traditional meat and cheese charcuterie board’s healthy cousin. Vegetable boards are packed with healthy vibrant seasonal vegetables and is the ideal vegan and vegetarian substitute for a traditional meat and cheese board.

Veggie boards are also great to have on any restaurant menu, as they are the perfect platform to use up any small pieces of leftover vegetables or produce that might go bad if not used soon. Vegetable boards are completely customizable to whatever seasonal or leftover vegetables you might have, making it simple, easy and versatile to suit any restaurant setting.

Preparation Techniques for Vegetable Boards

The main component of any vegetable board is of course the vegetables. So, make sure that you source only the freshest produce, as there is no hiding limp vegetables on a fresh crudité platter. Properly cleaning and preparing your vegetables are also a must, so make sure to properly wash and clean all your vegetables in fresh water and a vegetable wash before using them.

Once you have selected your veggies you need to decide how to present them. There are many different types of cuts that you could do to best present your vegetables, like Julien, diced, thinly sliced, cubed or leave smaller vegetables like cherry tomatoes and mini corn whole on your platters. It is important to incorporate different types of cuts on your platters to create a visually appealing board, so try out as many different styles as possible.

When it comes to arranging your vegetables, keep in mind all of the different elements that you would like to have on your board. Place sauces in the middle of your board and arrange the vegetables around them working towards the outside. If you are incorporating elements of cooked vegetables, consider putting them in separate bowls or containers as to not have them drip all over the rest of your platter. Smaller elements like nuts or olives are also great to put in small bowls throughout your platter.

And lastly, consider creating different heights on your platter for more visually appeal.

Stack vegetables, or place long vegetables like mini carrots or mini corn standing upright in a little jar. Cherry tomatoes and mini mozzarella also look great on skewers that will help you achieve more height and dimension in your platters.

The Best Vegetables to Use

When it comes to what vegetables you should use for your vegetable charcuterie, almost any vegetable can work. Some easy favorite vegetables to incorporate in your boards include, carrots, celery, bell peppers, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus and green beans.

And don’t think that you just have to stick to raw vegetables, cooked vegetables are a delicious addition to any veggie board and opens up even more possibilities of what vegetables you can incorporate, like eggplants, squash and pumpkins, caramelized onions and roasted whole garlic bulbs, to name but a few.

But no matter what vegetables you are planning on using on your boards, make sure to always choose the finest quality produce. And if you are looking to make assembling your vegetable charcuterie even easier, then check out the wide selection of wholesale vegetables and wholesale precut high quality fresh veggies from Riviera Produce.

Add Flair with Sauces and Dips

No matter how healthy you claim to be, everybody loves a good sauce or dip with their veggies. And when you are planning your vegetable charcuterie board adding a variety of different complimentary sauces and dips are a must.

Some of the best sauces and dips that pair extremely well with a vegetable board are hummus, caramelized onions, a whipped feta dip, or try this delectable eggplant based babaganoush recipe with your next vegetable platter.

Adding sauces and dips to your veggie board is also a great way to add more visual appeal to your final product. Try using half a coconut shell to hold some of your sauces if you are going for a tropical inspired vegetable board, or if you are looking to keep your board elegant and sleek, try using glass or china bowls and spoons for your sauces and dips. Or you could even put your sauces in a half a bell pepper or other hollowed out vegetables. The options are only limited by your imagination when it comes to designing your vegetable boards!

Elevate Your Vegetable Boards

The perfect vegetable charcuterie starts with the perfect serving platter to showcase your vegetable creations. Carefully consider what material of board would be best suited for your needs. Slate, marble and porcelain are all great, elegant sanitary options, but they can also be heavy and chip easily. Wood is a classic option, but keeping it sanitary in a busy restaurant might be a challenge.

You will also need to carefully consider how big you want your vegetable platters to be, and if you will be making different sized platters depending on the amount of people. Also keep in mind that big platters do look impressive, but you might not have the storage space or room on your tables to have big platters.

People eat with their eyes, and in order to elevate your vegetable boards you need to carefully consider how to make them visually striking and appealing.

This can be achieved by honing your vegetable carving skills, and creating some interesting edible shapes and designs. When working with vegetables, color is definitely your friend, as there are so many colors to choose from, so use complimentary colors to your advantage. Another easy and impressive way to add flair and color to your vegetable boards is to incorporate edible flowers.

Where To Source The Best Vegetables

High quality fresh vegetables are the key to any great vegetable board, and if you are looking to place your next wholesale fresh produce order with the best wholesale precut vegetable supplier take a look at what your one stop wholesale produce supplier, Riviera Produce, has on offer for you.

Riviera produce services the five boroughs of New York, as well as Connecticut and New Jersey and take pride in sourcing their produce from trusted family farms.

They are also one of the few wholesale vegetable suppliers that let you order up until midnight for next day delivery, ensuring that you will never be in a pickle when it comes to creating the freshest vegetable boards.

Take a look at what Riviera Produce can do for your restaurant today!