The rise of localism, respect for nature and sustainability efforts has meant a greater attention to the origins of drinks, meaning the relationship between food and drink has moved in new directions. Beginning with Noma, natural, biodynamic and organic wines have become a crucial part of the offering at many of the world’s best restaurants, with sommeliers offering wines with a unique character, such as skin contact and oxidative wines, that often work better than big-hitters from Bordeaux or Burgundy.
Elsewhere, surplus ingredients and waste from the bar, kitchen or garden are also taking our palates in bold new directions. At the likes of L’Enclume, Hiša Franko and Mirazur, this has meant a total revolution in soft drinks pairing. For Ros, the juicy pairing at Hiša Franko, which involves the production of fermented juices, amazakes and aged kombuchas, “proves what it means to have two complementary menus that really talk to each other.” Here, a tomato and melon juice served with a summer harvest salad of rhubarb and herbs from the kitchen garden, for instance, offers a balance of freshness that shines another light on the potential of pairing.
Where to try
L’Enclume Cavendish St, Cartmel, Grange-over-Sands LA11 6QA
Hiša Franko Staro selo 1, 5222 Kobarid, Slovenia
LEFT: ELEGANT INTERIORS AT LE CLARENCE, PARIS. RIGHT: CRAB PREPARATION AT LE CLARENCE, PARIS
Ditching traditional structures
The fine-dining journey used to be set in stone, beginning with amuse-bouches, bread, starters and courses of fish and meat followed by sweet desserts and petit fours. This is increasingly being played with through the introduction of sweet snacks, savoury desserts and more umami, sour tones or fruit across the menu. This can be subtle, such as at the two-starred Le Clarence in Paris, where chef Christophe Pelé combines seafood, animal fats and fruit in novel ways, and where bread and snacks come at surprise stages of the meal.
A more radical approach has been taken at Disfrutar. “Perhaps unintentionally, we ended up making a very marked fusion of the sweet world with the savoury world,” says Mateu Casañas, one of the restaurant’s trio of leading chefs. For him, ingredients “have a soul that is completely viable to see in the sweet world and also in the opposite direction,” as reflected in dishes that include a pigeon tart with cocoa pulp sorbet or a cucumber hoisin dessert.
