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There’s a world of cooking information out there that every aspiring chef must wade through, from useless to downright wasteful (ahem, glass and ceramic cutting boards).
We get that a cutting board is more than just a tool. Choosing a good cutting board can bring immeasurable enjoyment to your cooking and elevate the aesthetics of your kitchen and table.
As you build up your collection of essential kitchen tools, you’ll ask yourself,
“How can I find the best cutting board as an aspiring chef?”
“Which cutting board strikes a balance between value for money and quality?”
With this guide, we’ll help you answer these questions:
First, let's run through our top three cutting boards for aspiring chefs.
We want to help you build your cutting board collection from the ground up. First, you need the centerpiece to which you’ll give dedicated counter space. It’ll be where you carve your larger meats and chop up everything for your mise en place.
The Large 15x20 Inch Walnut Cutting Board by Virginia Boys Kitchens is a perfect centerpiece for every budding chef because of its ideal walnut material, size, thickness, and functionality.
Large 15x20 Inch Walnut Cutting Board
As a foundational piece of kitchen equipment, the 15x20 Inch Walnut Cutting Board lends its large size to the stellar qualities of walnut wood, giving the best workstation functionality.
Click the link below to check the latest price and see what people are saying about this board.
So, you’ve purchased your large centerpiece and workhorse. What about the quick prep tasks that require portability? Maybe you just need to slice a bit of onion or quickly mince some garlic.
Here’s where the small 8x12 Inch Walnut Cutting Board comes in. At ¾ inch thickness, it’s small enough for those quick prep tasks and can even double as a serving dish for a rustic burger meal.
Remember, it’s not meant to replace your main workstation, but to add dynamic functionality and flexibility to your kitchen.
8x12 Inch Walnut Cutting Board
8x12 Inch Walnut Cutting Board
This small 8x12 Inch Walnut Cutting Board serves as the perfect complement to a larger cutting board—it also looks amazing stacked against larger boards for decor.
The Large 14x18 End Grain Walnut Cutting Board is a showstopper. You have a workhorse, a small versatile piece, and now a cutting board that is a beauty to make all your culinary aspirations come true.
In a nutshell, the show-stopping, one-of-kind pattern of the end grain board sets it apart as the crowning jewel in your kitchen. The fact that end grain is kinder to your knives is a welcome bonus for aspiring chefs learning their way around the kitchen.
Click the link below to check the latest price and see other customer’s experience with the end grain walnut cutting board.
Now that we've tackled the best cutting boards for budding chefs, let’s look at pricing and other useful buying tips.
The price range of wooden cutting boards depends on:
In the table below, we compare pricing of different walnut cutting boards:
| Product | Low Price | High Price | Average Price |
| 8x12 Edge Grain Walnut Cutting Board | $50 | $100 | $75 |
| 15x20 Edge Grain Walnut Cutting Board | $150 | $220 | $185 |
| 18x24 Edge Grain Walnut Cutting Board | $5 | $15 | $175 |
| 14x18 Inch End Grain Cutting Board | $130 | $250 | $190 |
For every aspiring chef, a well-stocked kitchen is the foundation on which good culinary skills are built.
With that in mind, here are a few other kitchen essentials to support your perfect cutting board:
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Left to right: Chef’s knife, paring knife, utility knife by Virginia Boys Kitchens
We absolutely love our sustainable, American-made walnut boards. The fact we’re able to fund reforestation with each purchase is a stellar bonus.
What can beat that?
Well, our customers are also gushing about the:
"The wood working skills used are so wonderful. Living with plastic cutting boards isn’t really that nice."
— Walter W., USA
"I ordered the small walnut board with a juice groove. My husband wanted something smaller for cutting and serving meat…he loves it."
— Catherine L., USA
"I ordered the extra large walnut cutting board… I am very pleased and will be ordering the smaller size to go with it."
— Devin D., USA
"I decided to get rid of all of my old ones and consolidate to one beautiful board and this one didn’t disappoint."
— Julie F., USA
"My husband bought me the 18x24 board… I never knew how much of a difference a good cutting board would make… it makes cooking more enjoyable."
— Jennifer D., USA
"Easy to clean and perfect size for preparing all items of a meal before cooking. Super large… it lives on my kitchen island."
— BK
To get the best chopping board for your needs, consider the size, shape, wood type and aesthetics, and additional features that best suit your lifestyle and culinary abilities.
An avid home chef or aspirant who prepares large quantities of food will need a large cutting board (12x18 in. or 15x20 in.).
However, someone who doesn’t cook frequently will do well with a medium-sized board (10x14 in.).
The extra small boards are a great supportive piece for minor tasks while the extra large boards are stationary or decorative.
Do you need a board that doubles as a serving tray? Then, square, circular, and paddle boards might be better suited for you.
That said, rectangular boards are the most versatile for cooking and presentation. If made well with luxurious wood such as walnut, they can carry your cooking from prep to serving.
Different wood types determine how hard, durable, scratch-resistant, stain-resistant, antimicrobial, and expensive your board is.
For example, maple is more antimicrobial but shows stains more readily, while walnut has the best balance of hardness, color, and bacterial resistance.
The wood also affects the aesthetics of the board and whether it’ll blend seamlessly with the rest of your kitchen. Do you want the dark rustic feel of walnut or the light, Scandi aesthetic of maple?
On top of that, choosing between end grain and edge grain can hugely change the cost, aesthetics, knife-friendliness, and durability of your cutting board.
Look for additional features such as rubber feet that elevate the cutting board and prevent it from sliding. Likewise, you may also want handles or finger grips to make the larger boards easily portable.
Other features include hanging holes and grooved edges to catch juices and keep a cleaner work surface.
Michelin star chefs unanimously agree with knife makers that the best chopping boards are wooden—they’re hard enough to support chopping without sustaining damage, but not too hard that they dull your knives.
Professional chefs are also exploring rubber, since it has better bounce than plastic and is easier to maintain than wood.
Plastic isn’t worth using as it dulls knives and increasingly harbors bacteria with continued use.
Let’s look at some food-safe wood types that get that chef’s kiss:
| Wood Type | Janka Hardness Scale | Pros | Cons |
| Walnut | 1010 |
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| Teak | 1070 |
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| Beech | 1300 |
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| Maple | 1450 |
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No. As an aspiring chef, you’re better off spending your money on simple but well-made kitchen equipment that will give you years of service. Think of one or two well-crafted, high-quality wooden boards to complement a few high-quality, handmade knives.
Gimmicky boards, meanwhile, are a dime-a-dozen with flexible foldable options or extra container attachments—which seem fancy but often break down fast.
Finicky equipment in the kitchen tends to get in the way of the art of cooking, anyway.
As an aspiring chef, start with the best tools available to you.
When it comes to cutting boards, it’s worth investing in high-quality hardwood that will serve you for years, treat your equally precious knives kindly, and add to the beauty of your kitchen and table.
If you’re ready to level up your kitchen with gorgeous, sustainable, American-made walnut cutting boards, check out our board selection.
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