Some food writers and critics skeptical over butter boards — a TikTok food trend consisting of softened butter over a charcuterie board and topped with various herbs, spices, fruits, and more — are now wholeheartedly embracing the buttery dish. Even legendary chef Jacques Pépin jumped on the trend, posting a video to Facebook with his own take on the butter board.

“A couple of things: they’re easy to make. As Jacques said in his sexy accent, you put it on a plate — you don’t have to put it on a board,” Kummer said. “What’s great about them is that you can invent whatever you want, as much as you think you’re going to go through, and it lasts — you don’t have to throw it out. You have to refrigerate it and then bring it back to room temperature, but it’s very practical.”

Kummer is executive director of the Food and Society policy program at the Aspen Institute, a senior editor at The Atlantic and a senior lecturer at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.