How do I put together a really impressive cheese board for a dinner party of 8?

Michelle, the secret to a great cheese board is variety and restraint, five cheeses is plenty for eight people. Here's my formula: one soft (triple cream brie or a Brillat-Savarin), one hard and aged (comté or a proper 24-month Parmigiano), one blue (Roquefort or our Red Hill Mornington Blue), one goat (Holy Goat La Luna is the one), and one wild card (smoked cheddar, washed-rind, or something local you haven't tried). Buy about 50g per person per cheese. Take everything out of the fridge 45 minutes before serving. Add dried fruit, honeycomb, cornichons, and good crackers, not too flavoured, they should support the cheese, not compete with it. And please, a decent bread. Come into Hawthorn East and I'll put together a selection for you.