Celebrate 5 years of feeding families and entertaining loved ones with creative, beautiful and delicious food boards. My first cookbook, Beautiful Boards, turns five years old!
Creative, Beautiful and Delicious Food Boards
Wow, I can’t believe it’s been five years since Beautiful Boards was published! My first book baby! I am so incredibly proud of this book and the way it has resonated with people all over the world. I created Beautiful Boards as a way to share my love for creative, beautiful and delicious food boards, and it’s grown into something far greater. It’s become a trusted resource and true inspiration for the food board industry.
Seeing Beautiful Boards in your kitchens, at your gatherings, and being a part of your cherished moments has been truly humbling. Knowing that this book has inspired countless meals, celebrations, and connections fills my heart with so much joy. It’s amazing to think that a simple passion could have such a widespread and lasting impact.
I’m so proud of what Beautiful Boards has become and the community it has created. Seeing your creativity, enthusiasm, and love for these imaginative boards has fueled my passion even more.
Thank you!
Thank you for welcoming Beautiful Boards into your homes, and for continuing to share your board creations with me. I just know this book will be a special part of your celebrations and everyday gatherings for years to come. Keep sharing your boards, tagging me, and most of all, making delicious memories with the people you love.
Fast Facts!
- Published on September 24, 2019
- Over 11,000 reviews and 5 stars on Amazon
- Beautiful Boards is sold in over 35 countries!
- Beautiful Boards has been published in 5 languages so far: English, French, German, Spanish, and Dutch. For the foreign co-editions of Beautiful Boards, we actually took out the American Flag Board and replaced it with a Spanish Tapas Board that I created.
- We had so much fun putting together the Behind the Scenes of creating Beautiful Boards. From the first discussion with my publisher in 2018 to 21 hour days creating, photographing and writing the content for this book, I didn’t know what I had gotten myself into. It was one of the hardest things I had ever done, but I can confidently say I don’t regret any of it!
Did You Know?
The original working title for my first cookbook was Boards Galore. We even had a cover designed and had even announced that it would be called Boards Galore, but I felt neither one really captured the creativity and beauty of the boards within this book. We went through several rounds of title changes and cover options before everyone fell in love with Beautiful Boards and a cover that really showcases the stunning boards within it. The perfect title and cover, in my opinion! Here’s what the initial cover was drafted to look like:
A Best-Seller!
When Beautiful Boards was first released in September 2019, we couldn’t keep it in stock. We had no idea how popular it would be and each time we did a reprint, it would sell out rapidly. People were mad they couldn’t get their hands on it and I was obviously frustrated because I wanted everyone to have a copy! This went on for a few years, actually, until we finally figured out how many to print at a time to meet the growing demands.
Beautiful Boards is still a best-selling cookbook on Amazon and at most major retailers year after year, for 5 years now, and rightfully so. Even though it’s being enjoyed in hundreds of thousands of homes worldwide, I believe there are still so many homes out there that would love it and enjoy it and be so inspired by it as well, so I’ll keep sharing it!
Five Stars!
Want to add your own review? If you enjoy your copy of Beautiful Boards, why not LEAVE A REVIEW on Amazon? Even if you bought the book from another retailer, you can still leave your review on Amazon to let the others know it’s worth buying. These reviews could inspire someone else to buy or gift this creative and fun cookbook.
My Favorite Boards from Beautiful Boards
This is like picking a favorite child! I truly love every single board in this book. I have such special memories of creating them the first time and enjoying them with my loved ones. I build so many of the boards in this book on a regular basis for our family meals, when entertaining friends and, of course, for every holiday! If I had to pick some favorites that we build and enjoy the most often it would be:
Pancake Board – our family has a weekend tradition of enjoying a beautiful Pancake Board together. It’s one of those boards that I know my kids will remember and hopefully continue the tradition with their families someday.
S’mores Board – there are so many fun ways to build and enjoy this board! We recreate it all the time for a sweet ending to the weekend or with friends on a Saturday night! It’s one of those boards you can go big with for a crowd or keep it super simple and small for a memorable dessert with the family on a Sunday evening!
Classic Charcuterie and Cheese Board – I’ll never get bored serving this board! It’s one of the most enjoyable experiences to build and graze on with friends and family. It’s such a great way to start any gathering and everyone truly enjoys the experience of getting to try the different combinations of meats, cheeses and accompaniments that I arrange on the board.
Most Re-created Boards
So many of the boards I created for Beautiful Boards have gone viral over the years and inspired people all over the world to recreate them. It makes me so happy to see when people recreate these boards and make them their own.
Candy Cane Caprese. The easiest board in the book to recreate and one that is sure to WOW! your holiday crowd!
Pumpkin Snack Board. This is one of those boards that is easy to build and everyone loves it! It such a fun activity to build with the family and is sure to become an annual tradition after building and enjoying it the first time.
American Flag Snack – this was one of the first shaped themed boards I created that really took off and has been recreated by so many people for patriotic holidays over the years. I created this board on a whim back in July 2018 as I was wanting to serve something festive for the 4th of July and it really got me thinking beyond the classic cheese and charcuterie or meal/snack boards, that I was already regularly creating and serving. From there, I just kept thinking of different and fun ways to arrange our foods for specific holidays and themed occasions.
These Boards Didn’t Make the Cut
- Baby Reveal Board. We were literally in the middle of taking the pictures for this board and it dawned on me how dumb I was to use brie cheese in the middle of the board since pregnant women are advised against eating soft cheeses like brie. Why didn’t I just put a cute cake in the middle?! That would have been so much better! Oh well, we didn’t find out what we were having before each of our babies were born so I wasn’t too excited about this board anyways!
- Willy Wonka Board. I love the look and theme of this board! But it was a tricky one to build and find all of the ingredients for so I made the decision not to include it. I wanted all of the boards in Beautiful Boards to be easy to build and the ingredients to be accessible for most. It’s super cute inspiration though for all the Wonka lovers out there!
It’s All on The ‘Gram
I’m so thankful for Instagram. It’s been such an amazing platform for me to share my board creations, inspire others to recreate them, and connect with a community of people that love serving food boards over the years.
The positive response over the years has encouraged me to continue and get even more creative with my concepts. I recognize and appreciate that if I wouldn’t have started sharing my food board creations on Instagram all those years ago, I wouldn’t be where I am today. And I certainly wouldn’t have been connected with my amazing publisher who reached out to me via Instagram after following me and loving what I was sharing.
Just browsing through the hashtag #boardsbythebakermama fills me with so much gratitude that I have a platform to share this passion and creativity of mine and so much pride in the community that we have built over the years creating delicious memories with these boards that we’ll all cherish forever.
Here are some memorable milestones we shared together on Instagram:
- First boards I shared in February 2014 and April 2014. I started building boards when we lived in Boston (2009-2011) when my dad really got into woodworking and would mail us his new wood board creations. We would host all of our business school friends and I would use them to serve appetizers and treats. I really got into building charcuterie and cheese boards in 2012. Right after we had the twins, we started doing these fun little “date nights in.” And we would always start with a little charcuterie and cheese board. My passion for building and serving boards blossomed from there. I got more and more creative with everything you could serve on a board and how to arrange it to make the occasion even more special and delicious. I was definitely at the very beginning of the creative food boards movement. And all these years later, I still love building boards, serving boards, sharing board building inspiration and seeing how much people enjoy them!
- Beautiful Boards announcement
- Opening Beautiful Boards for the first time
- First Week of Beautiful Boards Being Published
- Behind the Scenes Video.
Boards by The BakerMama
My love for building boards, of course, led to this cookbook, Beautiful Boards, but it also led to a wood board business which led to my Signature Board!
In November 2019, after years of my followers asking me where I got my boards, I started Boards by The BakerMama with my dad’s beautiful handcrafted wood boards and signed copies of my cookbooks. We then introduced The Signature Board in December 2020 and it’s been our best-seller to date. These boards go perfectly with my board building favorites, to build these unique and delicious creations.
Beautiful Boards Frequently Asked Questions
- Which board would be the ultimate crowd-pleaser for a party with friends? I think the Chips and Dips Board is so perfect for a crowd. It’s fun to serve a variety of chips and dips that are sure to please everyone.
- What’s the most unexpected ingredient combination in the cookbook? The beauty of all the boards within Beautiful Boards is that you can put a variety of different flavors and textures of food on a board and be surprised by the enjoyment they all bring when snacked on together. One of the most visually exciting and awesome to snack on boards is the Football Board. With a variety of crunchy brown snacks in the middle shaped like a football and lots of fresh green fruits and veggies surrounding it to resemble the field with some green dips. It all just works so well when arranged and served together at football watch parties!
- Can I find a board that doubles as a fun DIY activity? Several of the boards in this book are like crafting with food and they’re so fun to build! Almost all of the holiday boards are designed into shapes, like the Turkey Board or the Pumpkin Board or even a Santa shaped board. Building boards is such a satisfying experience because they look amazing and taste great too!
- Are there any boards in the book that are interactive? Yes, so many of the boards in this book are designed to be interactive as you enjoy them. For example, there’s a Build-You-Own Taco Board and even a Mix-Your-Own Mimosa Board. Also, the After School Snack Board has ingredients for the kids to build-their-own “ants on a log” or “fish in a river” and the S’mores Board is fun for everyone to build and brag about their own s’mores creations. There’s also a Decorate-Your-Own Cupcake Board that’s perfect for a kid’s party or girls’ night in and a Build-Your-Own Sundae Board that people go crazy over! Almost all of the boards are interactive!
- Is there a dessert board that’s perfect for satisfying everyone’s sweet tooth? I think the Chocolate Fondue Board is perfect because it has a variety of chocolate and non-chocolate sweet treats as well as some fruits. And dipping them into the chocolate is optional, of course. I also love that you can enjoy as little or as much as you want when grazing on a board like this. Lots of little treats that are sure to satisfy!
- What’s the most Instagram-worthy board in the book? The Candy Cane Caprese Board is definitely one of the most recreated boards from Beautiful Boards on Instagram. You saw it in Beautiful Boards first and it has truly taken over the internet and people’s holiday celebrations because it’s visually stunning and so simple to prepare. It will always wow a crowd!
- Does the book have any boards for movie night? Oh yes, there’s a board designed just for movie night! Truly a showstopper! With a variety of popcorns and candies to munch on throughout the movie. We’ve also enjoyed the Pizza Lovers Board while watching a movie as a family. So fun!
- Is there a board that I can serve for breakfast or brunch that will feed a crowd? The Bagel Board is one of my absolute favorite boards to serve for a crowd-pleasing breakfast or brunch. I love that it can set out for a while without having to worry about keeping foods warming and has so many great topping options to satisfy everyone!
- Which board would be best for a romantic date night? The Date Night In Board is simple yet special! It creates great conversation as you nibble on the different combinations. It also pairs nicely with a great bottle of wine!
- Are there any kid-friendly boards in the cookbook? There are so many fun and playful board in the book that the kids get so excited about. The Summer Fun Board is such a cute one to build with the kids as a fun summer activity and the Rainbow Board is a great way to get them excited about snacking on a variety of colorful fruits and veggies!
- Which board is the best for experimenting with gourmet cheeses or meats? I love trying new and exotic charcuterie meats and cheeses so I would highly recommend the design and assortment of the Charcuterie and Cheese Board to start, but just mix it up with different meats, cheeses and accompaniments that you discover.
- What’s the most creative use of leftovers on a board? The Cobb Salad Board is great for using up leftovers like meats, cheeses, and veggies that you have on hand. We love building salad boards toward the end of the week when we have a little of this and a little of that leftover from other meals that would be perfect to top a big bowl of lettuce with. Our kids actually fell in love with salads when I starting serving salad boards many years ago.
- Does the book feature any seasonal boards? Yes, I actually created a board for each season of the year. The Springtime Board is so cute and just makes you so happy while snacking on it. And the Summer Fun Board looks and makes you feel like you’re having the best day at the beach. There’s a Fall Feast Board that has the most delicious variety of fall-flavored snacks surrounding a pumpkin spiced cheese ball. And a Winter Wonderland Board that has a snowman in the middle built out of brie cheese with a variety of accompaniments to complement the cheese.
Thank y’all so much for building all these delicious memories with me and supporting Beautiful Boards . If you make any of my recipes from Beautiful Boards, be sure to snap a picture and share it with me on Instagram @thebakermama so I can see. If you’re on Facebook, be sure to join my Friends of The BakerMama group to connect and share all the fun and yummy recipes of mine that you make! 
I just love seeing how inspired and creative y’all get with the ideas I share. Enjoy!
xoxo,
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