Back when I was in my 20s, I decided to give up dairy. I figured I’d last a week or so and then collapse into a pile of ice cream, a failure. But you know, it turned out I was okay not having ice cream. I was okay not drinking milk. It was not getting to have cheese that broke me. I decided that dairy-free was not the life for me. (To be fair, that was more than a few years ago, and non-dairy cheeses have come a long way in since then.)

So when I was gifted this book, That Cheese Plate Will Change Your Life, I was immediately all in. I love a cheese plate, but I’ll be the first to admit that there is very little art in my game. I can slice cheese and put it on a board with some crackers, and that’s usually when I call it done. I have a feeling I won’t be satisfied with that anymore, especially since I know that there could be a salami river there.

Author Marissa Mullen has spent years making cheese plates, eating them, photographing them, posting them on social media, teaching others how to make them, and sharing them with family and friends. And she has come up with a foolproof way to cheese by numbers, making it easy to create the perfect cheese plate. You just follow her simple six-step formula, and you can make your own perfect cheese tray. Or you can try one of the dozens she’s already perfected and just fill them in according to her directions.

There’s That Back to Basic Plate that’s for beginners or That Cheese Party Plate, perfect for any gathering. A plate for lovers of goat cheese, French cheese, even a non-dairy cheese plate. And all that is just in the first chapter. You haven’t even gotten to the salami river yet.

Using Mullen’s paint by cheese method, you start with cheese, then meat, produce, crunch, dip, and garnish. And the cheese plates in this book take you through that step by step. First you learn a cheese plate that is about the cheese, then you move on to adding meat (the river). Next comes the produce, and on through the entire method. These plates give you so many options for picnics, for tailgating, for the different seasons, for meat lovers, for brunch, for dessert, for any group or gathering you can think of.

In addition to all the information you could ever need about cheese or cheese plates (not really—learning everything about cheese could take a lifetime, but this certainly gives you everything you need to get started), Mullen includes a handful of helpful recipes to up your game even more when you’re ready, like the Buffalo Mozzarella with Roasted Tomatoes and Balsamic Glaze, Prosciutto-Wrapped Melon with Goat Cheese and Basil, That Quick Pickle, and Dark Chocolate-Covered Strawberries.

I am thrilled that That Cheese Plate Will Change Your Life is a thing in the world that really exists. I know that I will use this as a resource often, for holidays and dinner parties and even for those nights that I don’t want to cook. Forget the spa days and pedicures, cheese is my new self-care!

I received a free copy of That Cheese Plate Will Change Your Life from The Dial Press in exchange for a free and unbiased review, with many thanks.