Forget butter boards… ‘charfruiterie’ is the only platter that matters

Following TikTok’s ‘butter board’ craze, the traditional cold-cuts spread has upped its game and become Instagrammable – and plant-based. Are you ready to carve and artfully sculpt the contents of your fruit bowl, asks Claire Cohen

The viral food trend – which requires beautifully arranged carved fruit – is all the rage (Kerry Gleason / @farmhousechicrental)

Time was that Boxing Day offered up the simplest meal of the year. A moment for bringing together all your festive leftovers in one glorious buffet – turkey, sprouts, parsnips, baguettes, cheese, mince pies, yule log, Christmas pud, bread sauce, brandy butter… – and adding an unnecessary platter of cold meats, plus a serious quantity of pickled onions.

Just when you hoped you’d never see the Christmas Eve gammon again, there it was, sitting alongside a Jacob’s cracker selection box and a highly questionable jar of Uncle Doug’s courgette chutney from when he had that bumper crop in 2010.

Ah, good times – but no longer. Like so much in life, the Boxing Day spread has been forced to up its game and become Instagrammable.