I really liked how various these charcuterie set ups were. Also the fact that not only is it options for making boards like it thought but there are also recipes to make the items on each board. Definitely want to try making the mini pies with strawberry chia filling for dessert sometime soon!

I will not be recommending Vegan Boards to be adopted into the curriculum, but could possibly see this in a classroom library.

Vegan Boards by Kate Kasbee is phenomenal. The photographs, the creativity of the boards, and the recipes at the end have created a need in me to create and use boards for my food. As someone with many food allergies/intolerances, this book blew me away. I am truly so excited to get a copy of this book when it's published to create my boards and to share Vegan Boards with everyone I know, vegan or not.

Vegan Boards is such a beautiful entertaining cookbook. I was in love with the clean text and gorgeous photos of these inventive and tasty looking boards. As I was looking through, I saw a few boards that I knew I wanted to try ASAP! The Breakfast Burrito board would be perfect for the morning after a sleepover for teen girls or even a twenty something and their friends after a night of drinking. Very adaptable for non-vegans as well.

For myself, I think the Netflix Night for Two is the one I will most likely love. Who doesn't want some gooey chocolate brownies and other crunchy goodies while snuggling in with your partner for some binge watching?

I will be urging my adult collection developer to purchase this title and will recommend it to others--Millenials and Gen Z love a good board!

There’s lots to like about ‘Vegan Boards’ by Kate Kasbee.
Firstly, it’s (not surprisingly) great for vegans or those who’d like to eat less animal produce.
There are lots of interesting recipes and presentation ideas, and the photos are attractive.
Some of the board combinations (the Mediteranean Grazing Board) made me think ‘yum!’ , but some made me think ‘yuck!’ – hotdogs and marshmallows, anyone?
A few weeks ago I read ‘Tables and Spreads’ by Shelly Westerhausen whose ‘boards’ concept was far stronger. I really couldn’t see why many of the meals in this book were presented on boards, other than that boards are obviously the trend right now. I feel that the ‘board’ concept works best with the tapas/meze style of lots of small dishes surrounded by lots of accompaniments and chopped up veg and Kasbee did many of these beautifully.
But why, for example, would you spread out baguettes and fillings on a board when you could just make a sandwich? Why have an ‘Overnight Guest Board’ when you can just put water, coffee and snacks on any old tray? Why – oh why – would you deconstruct a pasta dish and serve a bowl of plain pasta surrounded by little dishes of the pasta sauce?
I guess that to get a cookbook published, you have to have a ‘hook’ and in this case it was ‘boards’. I will try and overlook that and rate this as a lovely book of vegan food ideas, many of which can which can be perfectly presented on a board.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc.

Cute but not very useful

When entertaining Kate Kasbee likes to present food on boards rather than trays, table runners, mats or doilies. Boards are trays without handles with the added attraction of wood. Frankly though, trays are probably more useful and who has enough space to store both?

This is an art book, not really a cookbook. Ms Kasbee instructs us to put food in bowls of different sizes, put the large main dish on a board and put little bowls around it. Her suggestions are arranged by use: meals, snacks, and entertaining, and then by an artistic design. The "Ombre" board, for example is foods of the same color family, in this case reds including pomegranate, beet, radish, strawberries, and red pepper for a snack or luncheon.

The recipes are in the back of the book, 2 to a page. The recipes seem competent although Ms Kasbee's choice of ingredients is not necessarily what I would choose. Too many recipes use maple syrup as the sweetener, for example. Maple is a nice flavor but can be overwhelming. Roasted sesame oil is not usually used for frying but here it is in a recipe for pulled jackfruit, among others. The assortment of foods is not very interesting. The tapas board is a bit meagre, given the array of tapas normally presented in a tapas restaurant. There are loads of other vegan options to choose from including potatoes, vegan cheese, vegan omelet, vegan croquettes,

Ms Kasbee uses brand names, which is a kind of advertising I don't like to see. Why "Instant Pot" instead of more common "multicooker" or "pressure cooker"? Or "Netflix Night"? Yes, there is also a "Family Movie Night" board a few pages later, but I can think of several clever alternative names to choose from.

It would have been nice if the layout artist had included the proper Vietnamese language accents in bánh mì. Multiple upside down photos make me dizzy and distract from the text.

All in all this is not a book you will want to buy. Once the concept is in your brain you can arrange food on a serving board or platter or tray without a guide.

When one thinks of "food boards" per say, one usually doesn't think of breakfast boards, I was pleasantly surprised to see the chia parfait board upon "opening" of Ms Kasbee's book. The photos are fresh, vibrant and popping! The build your own bagel board is smart. Also the Mediterranean grazing board I practically grew up with being from Metro Detroit ( I love that one).

This book is genius for couples that wanna do a movie at home and just don't feel like cooking but still want something substantial. This book has some great recipes for the special parts of the boards as well. The jackfruit for the Bahn Me Board and the Coconut Chickpea Curry, Lemony Pea Pesto. Yum Yum!

I've got a few people in mind that I would gift this beautiful "board book"!

Thank you to NetGalley and publishers for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I quite liked the ideas and found a lot of inspiration within Vegan boards, however I did find some of the ideas a bit over the top - such as the grilled cheese board, some were just full dinners put on a board but I did enjoy some of the other themes and found lots of cool ideas.

This is a fantastic book. There are beautiful photographs for each platter, with detailed instructions and recipes. I have made two platters and they turned out perfect. I highly recommend this book for people seeking vegan platter ideas.

In love with this book!
First things first – this can be for vegans and non-vegans alike. You can always replace a vegan dip by a cheesy dip or adjust the boards, but the point is it is beautiful and colourful and the boards leap off the page and they are perfect for when we can have some sort of social life again. (Yes, some are good for now, but really, they should be shown off and enjoyed with others.)
It’s less of a recipe book and more about presentation. Rather than having a detailed recipe for tacos, it is a build-your-own taco board. Same for some desserts and other “meals”.
Board after board is broken down into elements (rather than ingredients) and pairings and there is a board for every occasion.
The recipes you do need are at the back. I was particularly interested in salsas and dips to mix up (and, let’s be honest elevate my beloved crudités platters) and it didn’t disappoint.

At first glance it might be easy to dismiss Vegan Boards by Kate Kasbee as a coffee-table book courtesy of the Instragram era. Yet, while many of the food layouts, though eye-catching, have practical-ole-me wondering why you would serve the peanut sauce on the side of the noodles rather than just mix them together so you don’t create a mess or why would you waste all of that time to create that board when it strikes me as impractical, some are definitely guest-worthy. Certainly, creating a breakfast board for guests on a Saturday or Sunday morning or on vacation seems like it would be a wonderful, appreciated gift, especially if you can come close to recreating the picture-worthy boards that Kate Kasbee had done.

Besides pages of board ideas with instructions for breakfasts, snacks, mealtimes, and desserts, Kasbee has a slew of recipes that had my taste buds activating. These are not the recipes that you encounter over and over again in vegan cookbooks (I should know 😉 ). I love the idea of trying different flavored cauliflower wings, chickpea scramble, chickpea salad sandwiches, caramelized onion dip (talk about salivating!), Banh Mi pulled jackfruit, rustic peach jam with thyme, and roasted beet hummus. I mean, do you see where I’m going with this? These are tantalizing recipes that just make me want to run into the kitchen and rustle them up!

While I might not become the Martha Stewart of food boards or whoever the reigning queen of food boards might be, I can see myself trying this for guests just to impress. Because I know they would be if I produced a board that in any way resembled some of these! And, the recipes. Oh, yes, I am definitely doing the recipes.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Such a great book. Love that there is a photo for every board in this book. Our family loves food boards and I haven’t been able to find many ideas online for them. This is such a great collection and I live that it even includes breakfast boards!

This is a gorgeous and fun book of all kinds of vegan boards, from Cincinnati chili boards to breakfast in bed boards. They're all colorful and absolutely gorgeous, and make you want to make them all. Each board is shown in a giant color photo and then the opposite page tells you the ingredients/recipes each one uses and the steps to assemble it. Then the second section of the book has recipes. There is no nutritional information provided for the recipes, but otherwise it's a wonderful book.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.

Definitely one of the most creative cookbooks I’ve seen. It’s perfect for inspiration for a meal for a night in or a night where you’re hosting a crowd. Very stunning and easy ways to execute any type of board for any occasion. Makes you excited to host and it seems so simple and easy!

I really enjoyed this cookbook. As someone who is trying to incorporate more vegan options into her menu, I found it very useful. The recipes are not overly difficult, which I always appreciate. And the visuals made everything really appetizing.

Ah incredible cookbook filled with innovative recipes and beautifully displayed food. I was planning to make the sweet potato board for my family boxing day event but was unable to due to last minute pandemic restrictions, but will make a smaller version for myself and my partner. Shows vegan food does not need to be boring!

Such a wonderful book! I love making boards at home and how done that for years, but never realized until now how versatile it is, and that so many things can be turned into boards. I got many new great ideas from this book. I will for sure make several of these boards. The pictures are absolutely stunning! Can't say which one is my favourite since there are too many great ones to choose from. I also love it that most can be done without too much effort. Takes awhile to chop some things, but otherwise I'm sure anyone can make great boards. There are some recipes in the book, but they are fairly simple and straightforward.

Vegan Boards by Kate Kasbee is a brilliant take on snack boards that are traditionally filled with meats and cheeses. As someone who currently does not follow a vegan diet, this book is full of fantastic ideas to incorporate healthier foods as snacks that can be enjoyed by everyone.
The book itself is presented beautifully. Each recipe has a full paged picture of how the board will look and there are ideas for meals for any time of the day and all kinds of occasions.
This is a brilliant book, not just for those who currently have a vegan diet, but also for anyone looking to transition into this lifestyle.

Really enjoyed the vegan board recipes and am excited to try these with my family. The recipes seem very favorable and I love the amount of time needed to prepare these for my family and friends when we entertain. I would highly recommend this book to friends and family!!

What a gorgeous book! The pictures are stunning and the "recipes" are simple enough to assemble. I love that it was separated into occasion charcuterie boards thus depending on whether you want a breakfast, dinner, or even a party charcuterie board you can flip straight to those pages. Especially important for a book such as this is the inclusion of a photo for each one of these boards. I highly look forward to purchasing this book when it is published!

I love this book for bringing beautiful and exciting spreads to those who are vegan or simply looking for healthier options. The recipes look delicious and are much more exciting than a smile meat and cheese platter. I can't wait to make some of these for my next gathering.
Many thanks to Harvard Common Press and NetGalley for the advance copy.