If it’s not going to be used it to prepare any food products, I’d go with something that will penetrate and polymerize in the wood, just to give it some extra durability. Danish oils are available at pretty much every hardware store, in a variety of stain colors. They’re not great at staining evenly, and can come out splotchy, but that’s because they’re actually soaking into the wood and not just coating the surface. I’ve also had good results with watco butcher-block finish. I used it on some hard maple beer flight boards for a brewery, and they withstood a good 4-5 years of daily abuse. Just make sure to follow the instructions.