Top 5 best food & drink pairings for the holidays

Tired of Dad's "Grand Bordeaux" monopolizing your holiday table? Here's a quick overview of a much more original and equally, if not more, delicious alternative. Let's get started with our selection of 5 food and drink pairings for the holidays:

Sake – Raw Fish

A little tip: don't announce the pairing before everyone has tasted it, or you'll make enemies around the table! And yet! In less than 10 years, sake has experienced an explosion in France, and exceptional products have appeared on the market, the complete opposite of the gut-wrenching brew so well-known at the end of student nights ("Oh, that's all that's left? Well, pour it anyway…"). So today it's possible to find incredible sakes (this alcohol made from fermented rice) that pair wonderfully with certain dishes, especially festive ones. For example, we recommend a sake with notes of red fruits (those of the Takeno house for example, which use kamenoo rice bringing precisely these flavors) with raw fish: sashimi, tuna tartare or tuna tataki.

Champagne – Seafood

Try to convince everyone in the household to save the Champagne for the meal, not just as an aperitif! This way, you can offer a brut Champagne, renowned for its acidity and freshness, with oysters. Their briny, salty flavors will pair wonderfully with the bubbles! You could also try a more delicate, less vibrant vintage Champagne with scallops. A harmonious and perfectly balanced pairing.

Gueuze or barrel-aged beer – Foie gras (pan-fried)  

What to serve with foie gras? Since sweet white wines have fallen out of fashion (for good or bad reasons), the question of pairing them with foie gras arises. Here, we suggest choosing beer. But not just any beer! To cut through the richness of the eponymous foie gras and complement its aromatic intensity, two options are possible. The acidity of a gueuze, with its lovely aromatic notes. We would, of course, think of products from the... Cantillon breweryOr a barrel-aged beer, whose effervescence, as well as its vinous, woody, and vanilla aromas, will work wonderfully. We're thinking, for example, of beers aged in Condrieu barrels from the... Celestin Brewery. 

Milk Stout or Pastry Sour – Chocolate or fruit desserts

Okay, okay, we're cheating a little here with two pairings. But it's all for the best, my dear. More seriously, finding the right pairing for desserts isn't always easy, especially if we're trying to move beyond "shall we open another bottle of champagne with the Yule log?" So we've tried to keep things simple. For chocolate desserts (40% of the desserts) or those in that style, we're opting for a Milk Stout, those incredibly smooth and creamy dark beers, almost like a milkshake with wonderful coffee and vanilla aromas. For fruit desserts (40% of the desserts), we suggest a perfect match with a Pastry Sour. Its acidity will cut through the sweetness of the dessert, its effervescence will be a welcome respite, and its pastry and fruity notes will enhance the fruit. For the remaining 20% ​​of desserts, figure it out yourself, or just drink water.  

Semi-dry cider – Soft cheeses

Okay, let's try not to bring out a bottle of wine here (in reality, white wine will always be a safe bet!). But I promise, if you play along, you won't be disappointed! If your cheese board features a good selection of soft cheeses (Brie, Camembert, Pont l'Evêque, Saint-Marcellin, etc.), trust in cider! A semi-dry cider with lovely aromas of apples and honey will truly be the perfect companion to enhance your cheese board! And again, the bubbles will be welcome to temper the creaminess of your cheeses.

Cheers, good app', health, kanpaï...!