Author is based in Brooklyn, but her heart is with Wisconsin cheese

Offer Marissa Mullen a bite of cheese and she’ll always say yes. As a child, she was given free range to create cheese plates for her parents’ many gatherings. Sartori BellaVitano remains among her most memorable favorites.

When she moved out on her own, cheese plates became a staple for any and every gathering. Just for fun, she used social media to share her boards, bites, even her perfect playlists to accompany the treats. She grew an Instagram following by sharing her unique method, a “cheese by numbers” approach to building beautiful spreads without stress.

Cheese plates soared in popularity, and her first cookbook, “That Cheese Plate Will Change Your Life,” published during COVID, definitely an atypical time for a book launch.

Now, she’s planning a tour for her second book, “That Cheese Plate Wants to Party,” ($30, The Dial Press) in stores April 11. She’s starting with events on the coasts, though the Brooklyn-based author plans to visit Wisconsin again later. She’s created a line of cheese-inspired products as well, including a custom cheese board featuring her cheese by numbers method.

Not only do cheeses get a showing on her plates, but she shares cocktail recipes from women who have inspired her path in the world of cheese. That includes former Madison resident Tenaya Darlington, also known as Madame Fromage, who shares a delectable gin cocktail recipe.

Following her passions

I’ve always loved cheese. My parents always loved to entertain. My dad is a self-taught chef. He would experiment with cheeses. He introduced me to Humboldt Fog, and I loved the BellaVitano cheese he introduced to me. My parents would have frequent parties, and I was on cheese plate duty. It was always something fun for me.

I studied music business and communications. My main passion was music. Cheese was something on the side. I started the @thatcheeseplate Instagram in 2014, just for fun. Over time it grew. By treating the Instagram as if it was the artist and I was the manager, I was able to grow it into the community that has a following. I was creating cheese plates and themes. This turned into my first cookbook (“That Cheese Plate Will Change Your Life”). … I quit my job in music in 2019 and pursued cheese plates full time. … I think cheese plates are a way to bring people together and host parties and create conversation.

Her creative process (aka Cheese By Numbers)

My process I coined is Cheese by Numbers. This is how I make my cheese plates. It is methodical. Step one is cheese, step two is meat, step three is produce, step four is crunch, step five is dip, and step six is garnish. … I wanted to break a cheese plate down into sections. When you see these elaborate spreads, it looks pretty intimidating.

When I make my plates, I make them in the same order every time. The cheese is always the foundation. I always use a variety of cheeses, a hard cheese, a fresh cheese, a stinky cheese, soft cheese. You can set a theme for yourself …

The cheese is the start, then charcuterie comes into play, the produce is where we add in texture elements, juicy fresh fruit or vegetables or briny items like cornichons. This where I say paint with your produce. It just brings the plate to the next level, the color blocking. … After that I add in crunchy items, the vehicle for your cheese, the crackers, bread, nuts.

I also like to do a crunch plate on the side of my cheese so people can restock. Dips, this is the pairing element. We can go on the opposite end of the spectrum with honey, fig jam, any sort of sweet flavor goes well with cheese, as well as bitter mustard, to add punch to the plate. The element that brings this all together is garnish.

Trendy or timeless?

A little of both. I’ve been making cheese plates for a very long time now. … They’ve always been a part of everyday life. Cheese and meat and charcuterie has been rich in European culture for hundreds of years. I don’t think that is going anywhere.

The big cheese plates and charcuterie you see on TikTok did have a pop culture moment. I do think that has passed, that style, but I do think there is room for evolution and growth in the charcuterie industry. Personally I’ve been venturing into bowls and pasta salads and dips, things that incorporate cheese and expand outside the board itself and still play with cheese. I don’t think cheese will ever go out of style.

Necessary equipment

I believe you can make a cheese plate on any flat surface, a board, a plate, a slate, a table.

Preparation and planning

If you’re not serving it right away, you have to be mindful of when you’re preparing a cheese plate. With hard cheese, cut it a max of 12 hours before, because if it sits too long it dries out. … .If you’re working with a brie or camembert, you want that to sit out at room temperature before you serve because right from the fridge it will be cold. I make sure the cheese sits out for about 45 minutes to reach room temperature.

Love leftovers, but when in doubt toss it out

I always save every ounce of cheese I can. … For saving cheeses the key is to not suffocate the cheese. The common theme, people wrap it in plastic wrap or a plastic bag. That is not always the best thing, as it will create condensation which will spoil the cheese more quickly.

Make sure your cheese has room to breathe in the fridge. If you wrap it correctly it can last a long time. The general rule is avoid plastic wrap. I love parchment paper for individual wrapping, then cheese paper and cheese bags, and I love beeswax paper. If plastic wrap is all you have that is fine, but your cheese won’t last as long.

Everything’s better with cheddar

A crowd pleaser for many is cheddar. People are familiar with it. It is a super popular cheese in the States. You can play with it and maybe give something a little nicer. For instance, I love Hook’s five year, which is one of my favorite cheddars. People try it and they are attracted to the orange on the plate, but the flavor is so intense and sharp. Put these gateway cheeses out. It is cheddar, but there is a story behind it. This is where it is from, and this is the farmer, the cheesemaker …

I think the two most popular and most accessible are brie and cheddar. People feel safe with them. If someone likes brie, I say you must like triple cream and camembert, and maybe goat cheese.

Don’t skip the rind

People typically either gravitate to hard or soft cheese territory. If they go for soft, try a brie. They may be afraid of the rind. I’ve had people scoop out all of the inside and leave the rind. You can eat that, it is really good! If someone is afraid of a brie, put some on a cracker and add some fig jam. It adds sweetness and make it less intimidating.

Her current cheese obession

I always love Pleasant Ridge Reserve and Rush Creek Reserve. I love Uplands Cheese (in Dodgeville). I got to go there. I went on a trip in 2019 an we toured the farm and we met Andy (Hatch, one of the owners). It was and it was such an experience.

I also met Chris Roelli, and we did an amazing tasting of Red Rock. We went to Fromagination (in Madison), one of my favorite cheese shops.

Honoring Anne Saxelby, her mentor and friend

Anne Saxelby was one of my inspirations in the cheese world. She was one of the first people who welcomed me with open arms. I was someone came from the music industry and didn’t know much about cheese. She would answer all my questions. Anne was the first person to really highlight American artisanal cheeses. She focused on the cheesemakers here who were making a name for themselves.

The Anne Saxelby Legacy Fund is amazing. It provides scholarships for young adults to live on farms. There is access to the world of cheese, but if you want to work on a farm and learn hands-on, sometimes it is difficult to find your way there. This provides a fully paid one month experience on a farm. This is about spreading the knowledge of cheesemaking and sharing it with young people. I wanted to put this book in memory of Anne for that reason. (Saxelby, of Saxelby Cheesemongers, died in 2021. She grew up in Libertyville, Ill.)

More: Littleport Brewing hopes to add winemaking, in historic buildings in the heart of Racine

Fork. Spoon. Life. explores the everyday relationship that local notables (within the food community and without) have with food. To suggest future personalities to profile, email psullivan@gannett.com.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Author is based in Brooklyn, but her heart is with Wisconsin cheese