Champagne is one of the most versatile of wines, unmatched as an aperitif but also pairing beautifully with food. A delicate blanc de blancs, made from 100 per cent chardonnay grapes, is perfect with seafood, while a richer pinot-based blanc de noir is great with cheese and charcuterie. Beware of serving it too cold as that will suppress the wine’s myriad aromas and nuanced flavours – around 10˚C is the suggested optimum drinking temperature.

Bubbling over with more fizz-related queries? Check out our Champagne Guide.

Only a bone, wooden or mother-of-pearl spoon should be used to taste caviar – metal can taint the flavour. Ideally, the tin should sit over crushed ice, with crème fraîche and a mound of warm blinis alongside. Alternatively, for a truly decadent breakfast, spoon caviar over buttery scrambled eggs piled onto toasted brioche, allowing 30g per person for the full experience; as the saying goes, there is only one thing worse than no caviar, and that is not enough caviar.

The black Périgord truffle – named after its heartland in southwest France – is arguably the most prized fungus on the planet. Should you manage to get your hands on a ‘black diamond’, carefully brush any soil from its surface, use a truffle grater or mandolin to shave it into thin wafers, then use it simply: among the layers of a potato gratin; as a luxurious garnish for fried or scrambled eggs; or over a pasta dish, perhaps. 

In this recipe for charcoal spaghetti with truffle-infused egg yolk and shaved truffle, the delicate taste of black truffle brings a whole new flavour profile to the egg, then is shaved to perfection to top it all off.
 

Smoked salmon is usually either long-sliced, in which instance the blade is held parallel to the fish, or D-cut, where the slicing is perpendicular to the side of salmon. Connoisseurs often choose the latter: the taste is different on the surface (the belly of the fish), in the centre and next to the skin, so the D-cut offers the perfect balance of all three in one mouthful. Serve with warmed blinis and crème fraîche – and bear in mind that the best smoked salmon absolutely doesn’t need drenching in lemon juice.

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