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Fiona Beckett

@fibeckett.bsky.social

Bristol-based former Guardian wine writer. Food and wine pairing geek. Publisher matchingfoodandwine.com and Eat This, Drink That on Substack fionabeckett.substack.com. @fibeckett_winematcher on insta

17,552 Followers  |  505 Following  |  362 Posts  |  Joined: 22.01.2024
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Posts by Fiona Beckett (@fibeckett.bsky.social)

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Duck a l’orange and cabernet franc What do you pair with this retro dish of duck à l’orange? It depends how sweet it is - in this instance not too much so which made this light red a good match

what do you drink with duck à l'orange? Here's one wine that works www.matchingfoodandwine.com/news/match_o...

24.02.2026 21:22 — 👍 7    🔁 2    💬 2    📌 0
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How to eat, drink and be merry – while pregnant – at Christmas Some traditional treats may be off the menu, but there are plenty of alternatives for a festive feast

Excellent guide from Clare Finney on how to negotiate Christmas eating and drinking if you're pregnant (or not drinking for any other reason) www.theguardian.com/food/2025/de...

18.12.2025 13:41 — 👍 9    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

I would love to go there

16.12.2025 12:08 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0
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The two masters were visiting from Korea on an trip sponsored by the Korean Association on Traditional Jang
Preservation and Research but were invited by a Korean chef Wizzy Chung who has her own Bristol restaurant Sky Kong Kong www.instagram.com/sky_kong_kon...

16.12.2025 09:02 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Like most omnivores I tend to be sniffy about the limitations of vegan food but this extraordinary meal by 2 Korean Masters in Bristol yesterday was exquisite. More like art than food, a beautifully curated contrast of colour, texture and taste. Thankyou Wizzy of Sky Kong Kong for the privilege.

16.12.2025 08:24 — 👍 20    🔁 0    💬 2    📌 0
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Rotisserie chicken and Mencia If you’re cooking chicken on a rotisserie will it have an impact on your wine pairing? Chances are it’ll taste different from your standard roast chicken

A wine for rotisserie chicken that would also be good for Boxing Day www.matchingfoodandwine.com/news/match_o... #matchoftheweek

15.12.2025 19:19 — 👍 8    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Smoked salmon and sparkling Vouvray Many people think champagne is the automatic go-to pairing for smoked salmon but it’s worth experimenting with other wines like these two I tried this week

I've never been entirely convinced about smoked salmon and champagne and both these alternative pairings were better, maybe down to the smoke or cure www.matchingfoodandwine.com/news/match_o... #matchoftheweek

09.12.2025 13:42 — 👍 11    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Is the Waitrose ‘fine wine’ offer worth it? Or would you be better going for one of their other deals?

If you're shopping in Waitrose this weekend and wondering whether to take advantage of their 'fine wine' deal here's my pick of the offers (paywalled but you can sign up for as little as £5 which you'll easily save yourself on the bottles I'm recommending!) fionabeckett.substack.com/p/is-the-wai...

06.12.2025 09:06 — 👍 3    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0
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Which cookbooks to give your family and friends this Christmas 'Cos everyone’s different

It's not that some cookbooks are better than others simply that they're better for the type of cook you're giving them to. Here's my Christmas round-up matched to the ideal recipient fionabeckett.substack.com/p/which-cook...

02.12.2025 17:42 — 👍 6    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0
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Tarte Tatin and Barsac The principle that the way you cook a dish will influence the wine match applies as much to desserts as it does to meat or fish as this pairing proves.

Food and wine pairings are not absolute - they depend, as in this instance, on how the dish is cooked and how old the wine is. www.matchingfoodandwine.com/news/match_o... #matchoftheweek

02.12.2025 14:22 — 👍 5    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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What food to pair with appassimento wines If you’re a fan of appassimento wines what should you pair with them - and if you’re not what sort of food offsets their sweetness

An appassimento red could be the answer to the 'what wine to drink with my Thanksgiving turkey' dilemma. Depending whether or not you're into appassimento wines as I explain in my latest post www.matchingfoodandwine.com/news/feature...

26.11.2025 12:22 — 👍 7    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

I met her a couple of times and she was such a lovely, warm, person. She touched everyone she met as you can see from the tributes from fellow chefs

24.11.2025 17:01 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

A fitting tribute to a groundbreaking and much-loved chef

24.11.2025 14:45 — 👍 9    🔁 1    💬 1    📌 0
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You don't have to be eating Japanese food to drink sake. Here are a couple of pairings you might well not have thought of www.matchingfoodandwine.com/news/match_o... #matchoftheweek

24.11.2025 14:34 — 👍 6    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Booze, bulls and bulerias. Sherry week in Jerez and Bristol Six pages of wine and music with playlist... including Rosalia!

Why Jerez is about more than just sherry. Including some great music open.substack.com/pub/sweeneyp...

15.11.2025 09:56 — 👍 5    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0
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Remembering Rachel Cooke | The Observer

I remenber bring commissioned by Rachel when she was on the Sunday Times. A really great editor and a great writer. Such very sad news observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

14.11.2025 22:55 — 👍 6    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Crab dumpling with a Citrus and Espelette cocktail Citrus and crab is a tried and tested pairing but maybe you don’t always have it in cocktail form? If not you should!?

Now that snacks are becoming a regular part of eating out maybe we should start pairing drinks with them, especially cocktails. Here's one combination that was spot on www.matchingfoodandwine.com/news/match_o... #matchoftheweek

12.11.2025 13:22 — 👍 5    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Duck and amontillado sherry A spectacular pairing menu which shows that it doesn’t matter whether a dish comes from Spain or Malaysia - it can work with sherry wines

Even sherry fans might question whether an amontillado would go with duck. Turns out it's a doozy #matchoftheweek www.matchingfoodandwine.com/news/match_o...

03.11.2025 17:14 — 👍 10    🔁 1    💬 1    📌 0

Are you suggesting I buy my followers? If so that is a totally unjustified slur.

01.11.2025 11:08 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0
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Cheese, wine & Waitrose Some suggestions for tomorrow’s online tasting

Like wine? Love cheese? Join me tomorrow! open.substack.com/pub/fionabec...

01.11.2025 09:27 — 👍 8    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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How I slept with Alain Passard without catching veganism

Good read on chef Alain Passard's conversion to veganism from Philip Sweeney sweeneyp.substack.com/p/how-i-slep...

31.10.2025 17:44 — 👍 4    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Chicken liver paté with qvevri-aged amber wine You might expect a qvevri aged wine to go with typically Georgian food - and it does - but here’s a classic appetiser that works just as well.

Ironically my #matchoftheweek from my trip to Georgia last week was not typically Georgian though it did involve a Georgian wine www.matchingfoodandwine.com/news/match_o...

20.10.2025 13:48 — 👍 5    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

I think the trick is to have the odd glass rather than take it right through a meal. Do keep trying!

16.10.2025 17:12 — 👍 3    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Mushroom pasta and sake You might think when it comes to food and wine pairing that wine is the perfect drink with pasta but this pairing proves that sake can do the job too.

Pasta always goes with wine, surely? Not necessarily. #matchoftheweek www.matchingfoodandwine.com/news/match_o...

16.10.2025 04:25 — 👍 14    🔁 1    💬 2    📌 1

Not maybe with the lighter dishes - I'd still go for riesling or viognier but with anything meaty for sure!

06.10.2025 14:57 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Australian icon reds and Chinese food You might think aromatic white wines like riesling are the best pairings for Chinese food but there are many dishes that could take a full-bodied red.

You might not think of pairing full-bodied Aussie reds with Chinese food but you should! www.matchingfoodandwine.com/news/match_o... #matchoftheweek

06.10.2025 11:05 — 👍 9    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 1
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Wood roasted meat and a smoky island whisky You might automatically think of drinking red wine with roast meat but in fact whisky works surprisingly well when it’s cooked over an open fire

When whisky is as good a pairing as wine. (And it's not with cheese or chocolate) www.matchingfoodandwine.com/news/match_o... #matchoftheweek

30.09.2025 20:54 — 👍 7    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

Certainly anything mushroom or truffle-related!

17.09.2025 09:19 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

That's how I approach a good bottle!

17.09.2025 09:19 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

In mine too!

16.09.2025 13:42 — 👍 3    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0