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Marissa Mullen is a 2015 Northeastern University graduate. The creator of “That Cheese Plate” and award-winning author says her next book will expand on her stress-free guides to cheese pairings, recipes and fun.
Marissa Mullen, a Brooklyn-based creator of the online community “That Cheese Plate,” has good news for the nearly million followers of her Instagram and TikTok accounts.
The 2015 Northeastern University graduate says her third cookbook is in the works. And like “That Cheese Plate Will Change Your Life” and “That Cheese Plate Wants to Party,” it will feature lush photography and plenty of recipes.
“It’s kind of like a prequel to the other two books,” Mullen says. She envisions it to be a helpful and stress-free guide to cheese pairings, with more robust recipes and spreads for gatherings.
Speaking of pairings, as a student at Northeastern, Mullen never imagined that her love of cheese and charcuterie boards would combine with what she learned as a major in music business to launch a global career as a food stylist, connoisseur and influencer.
“It really developed naturally,” Mullen says.
“My friends and I were living on Gainsborough (Street), and we were having a wine and cheese party in the winter of 2013,” she says. “We wanted to feel a little bit more adult and elevated and decided to put together a cheese spread.”
A search for curated images of cheese boards found them scattered across various websites, so Mullen put together her own page on Tumblr before moving it to Instagram.
“For about a year, it was just me sharing inspiration that I’d find and then sharing the cheese plates I’d make myself,” Mullen says. That led to her developing tutorials and classes and eventually a Cheese by the Numbers method of filling a board with cheese, meats, vegetables, condiments and even flowers.
At the same time, an artist management class Mullen took at Northeastern inspired her to take what she’d learned and apply it to her budding cheese plate business.
“I created a logo and merchandise like a hat and tote bag,” she says. A co-op with an artist management company gave her a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to produce events and tours — knowledge she eventually incorporated when going on book tours.
After graduation, Mullen got a job as house band manager for Jon Batiste on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” becoming Batiste’s creative coordinator after he set out on his own.
The hours were long and involved lots of travel. Mullen says she relaxed by “doubling down” on her passion project.
“The one thing that brought me a sense of groundedness on the weekends was to make a cheese board for my friends,” she says.
“I would have a ritual. Natural light coming into the apartment, music playing. I would just sit at my table and cut cucumbers and fold meat.”
“When you’re doing things with your hands, you can’t be on the phone or reading the news. You’re just very present,” Mullen says. “It’s a creative act where you can kind of channel that flow state when time disappears, and you’re in the zone. The best part about it is once the cheese plate is complete, you get to serve it to friends.”
For her innovative, boundary-pushing work, Mullen was named one of 33 entrepreneurs to win a Women Who Empower Innovator Award.
Mullen says she considers making a cheese board an act of self care, and she developed the by-the-numbers method to take the stress out.
It’s something people can create “no matter your age, your gender, your background or your experience,” she says.
A friend was so impressed by Mullen’s creations and creativity that she set her up with a literary agent in Brooklyn to pitch an idea for a book in 2017.
“I got about 20 no’s from every single publisher we pitched to,” she says. “Their response was we didn’t have enough press or followers. I had about 40,000 on That Cheese Plate, but that still wasn’t considered enough marketing strength for publishing a cookbook.”
Her response was to create an Instagram account for Cheese by Numbers with step-by-step tutorials.
Not only did the account rapidly amass followers and result in articles in major media, it caught the attention of Rachael Ray, who asked her to go on her show in November 2018.
It wasn’t long before an editor at Random House reached out and asked Mullen if she wanted to write a cookbook, resulting in “That Cheese Plate Will Change Your Life,” which Amazon named one of its top 20 cookbooks for 2020.
Her second cookbook, “That Cheese Plate Wants To Party,” was released in April 2023 and dives deeper into the realm of hosting, with themed plates, drink pairings and even musical playlists to pair with each plate.
She’s currently searching Instagram accounts for the photographer for her next, as yet untitled cookbook. Its main focus will be on the art of pairings and how to elevate gatherings with robust appetizers, salads, small bites and drink pairings.
And after years of letting her Instagram account grow organically, she recently hired a manager to pitch to different brand companies.
“She’s been a game changer,” says Mullen. “I always say don’t be afraid to ask for help. If you want to grow and scale your business, you definitely need people to help you.”