If you have plans to host any parties soon, you will no doubt be starting to think about catering. But if you want to reach the greatest heights of culinary excellence, there is only one way to do it: with cheese.

There is no doubt that this is the best party food of all. Shopping for engraved wooden cheeseboards should be the first thing on your party planning to-do list, because that means you can have a stylish base on which to arrange a magnificent array of dairy products.

A good cheeseboard should mix up cheeses to give it a variety of flavours, colours and textures. Blue cheeses are an acquired taste, so a Blue Stilton or Gorgonzola should be there, but ideally the only one of its kind. Similarly, you don’t need to overdo the soft cheeses; a Roule or Brie will be perfect for this.

Nutty cheeses can add some rich flavour and for this, the likes of Comte, Gruyere or Emmental will be ideal. The latter has large holes, giving it a classic ‘cartoon cheese’ look.

Mild flavours should be balanced with stronger ones, so go for something creamy if you include a hottie like Mexicana.

Finally, to add some colour, go for something unusual like a green-veined Sage Derby, a Red Windsor (which is actually pink), or a jet-black Charcoal Cheddar.

Cheeseboards have a long history, dating back to Biblical times; indeed, the book of 1 Samuel records that when David killed Goliath, he was only at the Israelite front line to start with because he had been sent by his mother to take a cheeseboard to a senior army officer.

Hopefully, your party will be a more peaceful affair, especially for the sake of whoever is the tallest man there, but with a great cheeseboard, the chances are it will be a very happy time for all.