METHOD

1. Cut the brown delivery bag into a square by removing the folded base section of the bag.

2. Roll the corner of the brown bag square until a cone shape is formed. Secure the cone with two staples at the base of the cone. Tape the seam of the cone together to ensure a cone with a tight point is formed.

3. Fold the uneven edges at the base inward, adjusting as needed, until the cone stands upright on a flat surface with the tip pointing straight up.

4. Scrunch the off-cuts of the brown bag up into smaller balls of paper and insert these into the cone, pressing them tightly into the cone, ensuring a stable structure. Fold the extra paper at the base of the cone inwards, creating a neat base. Secure the base with some clear tape.

5. Wrap the cone in a layer of plastic wrap ensuring all areas of the cone are covered.

6. Fold the salami slices in half and in half again forming a salami cone and insert a toothpick through each piece of salami. Once folded, set aside.

7. Prepare your cheese decorations by slicing a 5 mm slice off of the length of the cheese block. Place this slice flat on a chopping board and trace the shape of a star into the cheese using a toothpick. Cut on these lines using a knife to create the Christmas tree star topper.

8. Utilise the remaining section of this cheese slice to cut out smaller stars using a star cutter. These stars can also be cut thinner if necessary creating more stars from the off-cuts. Cut the remaining block of cheese into 1cm x 1cm cubes. *Chefs Tip: Cover the cheese star and cheese cubes in a bowl with cling wrap or a sealed container to prevent the cheese from drying out and crumbling during assembly.

9. Thread toothpicks through all of the remaining charcuterie tree ingredients, excluding the small cheese stars, ensuring the toothpick sticks out at least 1 cm. This will be your handle when removing items from the Charcuterie tree.

10. Starting at the top of the cone, insert a row of olives, on their toothpicks, moving down the cone diagonally. Fill in the space on either side of the olives with a row of the cheese blocks and the salami cones. Repeat and alternate this diagonal pattern utilising all of the ingredients until the cone has been covered.

*Chef’s Tip: An initial hole can be poked into the cone using a spare toothpick to allow easy insertion of the charcuterie toothpicks. Ensure the items are placed close enough to one another to minimise open spaces between each piece of food on the cone.

11. Cut small bunches of rosemary off of the sprigs and insert these into the open spaces between the food items on the cone.

12. Finish decorating the Charcuterie Christmas Tree by pressing the small cheese stars through the end points of the toothpicks that are already secured in the cone. Lastly, insert the large cheese star into the top of the Charcuterie Tree.

13. Transfer the Charcuterie Christmas Tree onto a serving plate, serve and ENJOY!