ROYAL CRAFT WOOD Premium Bamboo Charcuterie Board Set - Cheese Platter & Serving Tray & Serving Utensils - Perfect Housewarming Gift, Wedding, Bridal Shower Gift - Ideal for Entertaining and New Home

Why it's worth it

This bamboo board runs 16.5 by 11 inches, so a full meat-and-cheese layout for six to eight people fits without stacking. The set includes serving utensils and side bowls, and it's heavy enough to stay put when someone digs into the hard cheese.

The surface area is the reason to buy it. Good Housekeeping Institute testing across more than 15 boards landed on 144 square inches as the floor for serving a full meat, cheese, fruit and cracker spread to six or eight guests. This one clears that with room to spare. In practice that means your salami rosettes aren't crowding the crackers, and people can actually reach past each other.

At roughly five pounds, it doesn't slide around. That sounds minor until you've watched a lighter board skid across a counter while someone saws at an aged gouda. The weight also signals what it's made of — bamboo laminated thick enough to resist the warping that plagues thinner boards. Serious Eats recommends at least an inch of thickness for exactly this reason, and thin boards under three-quarters of an inch tend to cup once they get wet.

From our review of 8 charcuterie boards and serving sets

What we like

• +The surface area is the reason to buy it
• +At roughly five pounds, it doesn't slide around
• +Owners consistently report that the set arrives looking more expensive than it is, which is why it turns up so often as a…
• +Bamboo also has a hardness argument in its favor

What to know

• –Bamboo needs oil, and this board is no exception
• –Some owners have found it smaller than they pictured
• –The board is a laminate of bamboo strips, and any glued-up board can fail at a seam if it's soaked or left wet