Summer 2026

A grazing board photographed from above, with a wheel of brie at the center topped with blueberries and walnuts, ringed by folded prosciutto, sliced salami, manchego, wine-infused cheese, blueberry chèvre, cherries, strawberries, grapes, green olives, purple carrots and dried apricots.

Jennifer Ellis Murray created this grazing board for fellow Horned Frogs during a recent visit to Texas, incorporating purple ingredients throughout.

TCU Alumna Jennifer Ellis Murray Runs a Grazing Board Business in Barcelona

Photography by Jennifer Ellis Murray | The Board Barcelona

As an American living in Spain, Jennifer Ellis Murray ’14, loves the experience of going to food markets a few times a week, getting to know the vendors and learning how to eat in season in a country where not everything is available year-round.

Murray, who had studied abroad in Spain through the College of Education and returned as a student teacher, moved to Barcelona after graduation, where she taught fifth grade at an international school for eight years.

The extra time at home during the Covid-19 lockdown gave Murray the opportunity to start making grazing boards, which she learned about online, including through blogs based in the United States and the United Kingdom, where she said the trend caught on earlier than in Spain.

She remembered joking to her husband, “Wouldn’t it be so funny if one day I just stopped teaching and then had a company that was wine and cheese, and we just made food all day and did tastings and events?”

After the country opened up and she returned to teaching, the couple entertained small groups of friends at home, serving Murray’s grazing boards. She continued finessing her approach through trial and error — like learning not to put pickles near blueberries because the juice of the former ruins the taste of the latter.

Murray’s musing about pivoting to a culinary career slowly became a reality. While still teaching, she rented a commercial kitchen in Barcelona, where she hosted grazing board workshops and fulfilled catering orders, working early mornings, evenings and weekends. Eventually, she left her teaching job to devote herself to the new business.

Today, The Board Barcelona has a bricks and mortar shop and a long client list, catering private and corporate events in the Catalonian city.

Studio portrait of Jennifer Ellis Murray, founder of The Board Barcelona.

Jennifer Ellis Murray taught fifth grade in Barcelona for eight years before leaving to run The Board Barcelona, which caters private and corporate events in the Catalonian city. Courtesy of Juno House

Murray teaches classes quarterly at the shop, where she demonstrates to students how to create a balanced and nuanced grazing board. Her tips include slicing and arranging cheeses in interesting and various ways, pairing ingredients that taste good together and strategically placing elements in contrasting colors to move the eye around the board.

During a recent visit to Texas, Murray created a grazing board especially for her fellow Horned Frogs, using ingredients available from American markets — including cheeses made from cow’s, sheep’s and goat’s milk for variety in flavor and texture — and incorporating several purple ingredients.

Murray said to think like an artist while building a grazing board. “Step back frequently and look at the board as if it were a painting, always aiming for balance and symmetry,” she said. “The most important thing is combining flavors and textures that your guests will enjoy.”

— Laura Samuel Meyn

TCU-Themed Grazing Board

This board serves 4 to 6 people as a heavy appetizer or 7 to 9 people as a light appetizer. A rule of thumb is to include 2 to 3 ounces of cheese and 2 to 3 ounces of charcuterie per guest. It’s better to slightly overestimate quantities; you can replenish the board throughout the party. For a vegetarian version, omit the charcuterie and add more fresh fruit or cheese.

Serves 4 to 9

Cheese:

1 8-ounce wheel of brie

5 ounces young manchego

5 to 6 ounces red wine-infused cheese

8 ounces blueberry chèvre

Charcuterie:

10 ounces sliced salami or similar cured meats

4 ounces prosciutto or Spanish jamón

Fresh fruit:

Blueberries

Strawberries

Dark cherries

Red/purple seedless grapes

Additional items:

Grape-based jam

Dried apricots

Purple carrots

Green olives

Cherry tomatoes

Walnuts

Fresh sage (for garnish)

Crackers

Step 1: Take out all ingredients, leaving cheeses and meats off to the side so they can come closer to room temperature (meat is easier to fold when it is not too cold). Wash fresh fruit and set it aside to dry completely.

Step 2: Place brie in the center of your board and cut into small triangles.

A wheel of brie cut into small triangular wedges, placed on a light wood serving board.

Step 3: To make styling easier, remove a couple of slices of brie from the wheel. Twist-turn each piece individually to create pinwheel effect, stacking the final piece on top of the first.

A hand twists wedges of brie on their sides to create a pinwheel arrangement.

Step 4: Cut manchego cheese into triangles. Arrange them, rinds out, in a crisscross formation on the board, leaving space between brie and manchego for additional items and reserving room in the corners for meats.

A wheel of brie arranged in a pinwheel pattern at the center of a wood serving board, with two stacks of pale yellow cheese wedges placed in opposite corners.

Step 5: Slice red wine-infused cheese. Place in one corner of the board, slightly pushing and pulling slices to create a subtle 3D effect. Although the rind is not edible, it can be left on for color.

A wheel of brie arranged in a pinwheel pattern at the center of a wood serving board, with two stacks of pale yellow cheese wedges in opposite corners and a block of sliced cheese with a reddish edge along the bottom.

Step 6: Add blueberry chèvre in the corner opposite the wine-infused cheese, placing small piece of wax paper underneath (this cheese is very juicy and may stain wooden boards). Leave cheese whole or slice into medallions.

A wheel of brie arranged in a pinwheel pattern at the center of a wood serving board, with two stacks of pale yellow cheese wedges in opposite corners, a block of sliced cheese with a reddish edge along the bottom and a sliced log of purple-and-white marbled cheese along the upper edge.

Step 7: Open salami and prosciutto, wearing gloves if desired. Start with salami, overlapping each slice along the long edges of the board, repeating to create a three-layer wall that helps keep other items in place. If needed, gently lift manchego cheese and slide some salami underneath to help build height or fill gaps.

A wood serving board with a wheel of brie at the center, framed along the long edges by overlapping rows of sliced salami, with stacks of pale yellow cheese wedges, a sliced log of purple-and-white marbled cheese and a block of sliced cheese with a reddish edge tucked in the corners.

Step 8: Peel apart prosciutto pieces. Fold each slice lengthwise and gently pinch ends together to create a fan shape. Place between brie and corner cheeses.

Two hands shape a slice of prosciutto above a wood serving board arranged with a brie pinwheel, rows of salami, stacks of cheese and a sliced log of purple-and-white marbled cheese.

Two hands fold a slice of prosciutto into a fan shape above a wood serving board arranged with a brie pinwheel, rows of salami, stacks of cheese and a sliced log of purple-and-white marbled cheese.

Step 9: Keeping balance and symmetry in mind, place blueberries on top of brie and arrange strawberries and cherries around the board. Add jar of jam. Add grapes opposite the cherries and add dried apricots in pairs.