Fiona Beckett

Bristol, United Kingdom

Former Guardian wine writer but still writing for Decanter + Nat Geo Traveller Food. Publisher https://t.co/8b5qi04xw0 + Eat This Drink That on Substack

Articles

Chicken schnitzel, burnt salsa, fennel slaw

3 weeks ago | matchingfoodandwine.com | Fiona Beckett

Chicken schnitzel, burnt salsa, fennel slawPosted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on June 6 2025 at 16:46I confess I love a schnitzel especially if it’s dressed up with a salsa and slaw as it is in Thomas Straker’s gorgeous-looking new book Food you want to eat. Straker became famous for his ‘All Things Butter’ videos on YouTube and TikTok so thankfully the book includes those recipes as well but, as this recipe shows, he has other delicious dishes in his locker.
Lobster loaded fries and champagne

3 weeks ago | matchingfoodandwine.com | Fiona Beckett

Lobster loaded fries and champagnePosted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on June 2 2025 at 14:21You may have noticed there was a slight hiatus last month when match of the week went missing. (May is peak wine tasting season and always crazy busy)So I forgot to flag up this rather brilliant pairing with a splendidly indulgent dish I had at Burger and Lobster - their lobster loaded fries which consists of a couple of lobsters, a mountain of fries, melted cheese and a lemon and garlic butter sauce.
Smoked trout and char with horseradish and Gemischter Satz

1 month ago | matchingfoodandwine.com | Fiona Beckett

Smoked trout and char with horseradish and Gemischter SatzPosted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on May 26 2025 at 12:58Last week I was in Berlin though the city seems to be more in love with Austrian than German wines these days. This combination was one I tried at a winemakers evening at the Austrian wine bar Freundschaft which showcased wines from Weininger and Hajszan Neumann.
Courgettes with Georgian Spices and Walnuts

1 month ago | matchingfoodandwine.com | Fiona Beckett

Courgettes with Georgian Spices and WalnutsPosted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on May 24 2025 at 13:40I’m a huge fan of Caroline Eden’s writing and this is a recipe from her latest book Green Mountains, the final part of a trilogy on her travels through the Balkans and Central Asia. This volume is based on the Caucasus, specifically Armenia and Georgia, a country I visited a few years back and absolutely loved, myself.
Using ‘bridge’ ingredients to create a perfect match

1 month ago | matchingfoodandwine.com | Fiona Beckett

Using ‘bridge’ ingredients to create a perfect matchPosted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on May 21 2025 at 13:07One of the most useful tricks to master, especially when you’re dealing with a tricky-to-match ingredient, is to introduce a ‘bridge’ ingredient - in other words an element in the dish that makes it easier to pair with the wine you want to drink. It can be something as simple as cream or mashed potato or something rather more specific that picks out a flavour in the wine you’re serving.
Milk chocolate delice with miso caramel ice cream and a 1987 Georgian dessert wine

1 month ago | matchingfoodandwine.com | Fiona Beckett

Milk chocolate delice with miso caramel ice cream and a 1987 Georgian dessert wine Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on May 21 2025 at 15:30 I was torn between highlighting one of the many good matches with orange wine at a wine dinner at the Japanese restaurant Niju last week and this show stopping pairing of a 1987 dessert wine with a dessert of chocolate “delice’ (basically a moulded mousse) with miso caramel ice cream Although the dinner underlined how well Georgian wine, particularly...
Hake with white asparagus, smoked caviar and gamay

2 months ago | matchingfoodandwine.com | Fiona Beckett

Hake with white asparagus, smoked caviar and gamay Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on April 21 2025 at 12:21You might instinctively reach for a glass of white wine with hake but red wine can work equally well. And not only when it has a red wine sauce. This dish at The Blue Pelican in Deal which, despite the name, is an excellent Japanese restaurant, came with white asparagus, smoked Petrossian caviar and a sauce which I’m guessing included miso and mirin.
Condrieu and Cornish Brill salan

2 months ago | matchingfoodandwine.com | Fiona Beckett

Condrieu and Cornish Brill salanPosted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on April 14 2025 at 08:14The idea still persists that wine doesn’t go with Indian food but when the flavours are subtle and the dishes presented individually you can pair some of the best wines in the world with it. This was a dish at an amazing Indian restaurant in London called Bibi whose chef Chet Sharma has a fine dining background so it was really only the sauce they needed to take account of in their accompanying wine flight.
How winemakers of colour are changing South Africa's wine scene

2 months ago | news.wine.co.za | Fiona Beckett

Pick up almost any bottle of South African wine, and it’s unlikely to have been made by a winemaker of colour. But things are changing. There’s an increasing determination to improve opportunities, notably for young South Africans who want to enter the industry.
How winemakers of color are changing South Africa's wine scene

2 months ago | nationalgeographic.com | Fiona Beckett

This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK). Pick up almost any bottle of South African wine, and it’s unlikely to have been made by a winemaker of colour. But things are changing. There’s an increasing determination to improve opportunities, notably for young South Africans who want to enter the industry.