1. Revolutionary thoughts on food
& wine matching
How Robert Joseph of DoILikeIt? and
McGuigan Wine took a fresh approach
to making wine less daunting for
consumers

2. Traditional
food & wine matching advice #1
The unhelpfully “general” approach
Red with red meat; white with white meat and fish
“What kind of seafood?
Lobster Thermidor? Moules
Mariniere?
What kind of chicken?
Tandoori?
What if I don’t eat chicken,
seafood or salad?”

3. Ch Rauzan Gassies + Charlie Trotter’s Squab with Hijiki
Mushrooms & Fennel Seed
(from P52, Great Wines of Bordeaux with Recipes from Top Chefs of the World)
“What if I can’t find Hijiki
Mushrooms in my local
shops?
Does that mean I can’t
drink my Rauzan Gassies?
What’s another ‘right’
match for that wine?”
Traditional
food & wine matching advice #2
The absurdly “prescriptive” approach

4. And what about the consumer?
“Red wine gives me headaches”
“I’m allergic to fish…”
“My partner and I like different
kinds of wines…”

5. “Food and wine matching can make wine inaccessible,
positioning it like a luxury item with improbable partnerships
between extremely rare and expensive wines and ultra-complex
– and expensive – dishes. It can also frighten consumers by
suggesting that if some matches are perfect, others aren’t. So
there’s a high risk of getting it wrong
My own experience is that every time I’ve attended a meal
where someone has decided what goes with what, there’s
always been at least one guest who’s disagreed with the
decision.
In France, people often talk about ‘marriages’ between dishes
and wines. I’d plead for more relaxed relationships, and a return
to liberty and personal choice.
Olivier Legrand, Inter Rhône

6. A Solution
1) Ask consumers what they
actually like – and dislike – eating
and drinking

7. A Solution
2) Give them free advice based
on their tastes.

8. A Solution
3) Offer simple dishes they can
imagine preparing for
themselves

9. A Solution
4) Give them confidence by
offering recipes by a
down-to-earth cook whose face
they know

10. A Solution
5) Reassure them that there’s no
single “right” answer to food-
and-wine-matching

11. 1) Ask consumers what actually they like – and
dislike – eating and drinking
The form people can complete to get their John Torode – Neil McGuigan Recipe
Collection
(They can skip this if they like to get an off-the-peg version)

12. 2) Give them free advice based on their tastes.
A downloadable e-book
with up to 50 recipes,
selected to suit each
consumer’s tastes
Non fish-eaters get no fish
recipes.
People who don’t drink red
wine get recommendations
for white wines to enjoy
with their dishes.

13. 3) Offer simple dishes they can imagine
preparing for themselves
Easy pizza, a really
good burger, tortilla,
simpe but tasty
fish… Nothing most
amateur cooks will
feel confident to try
to make for
themselves.

14. Give them wine & food matches that will
work for them
“I love classic white
with fish”
“I simply prefer rosé” “I only ever drink red”

15. 4) Give them confidence by offering recipes by a
down-to-earth cook whose face they know
John Torode, one of the best
known cooks in the UK, thanks
to his involvement with
MasterChef, the show that
encourages amateur cooks to
aspire to producng really great
food.
(He also happens to hail from
the same part of the Hunter
Valley as Neil McGuigan)

16. 5) Reassure them that there’s no single
“right” answer to food-and-wine-matching
Every recipe offers three quite different possible
wine matches – and reasons why Neil McGuigan
thinks each will prove successful. Of course, they
won’t all work for everyone, but the message is
clear: “experiment for yourself…”

17. First proof of concept…
The Recipe Collection has been online for less than
two weeks and has yet to be widely promoted.
A copy is already being downloaded every hour, 24
hours per day…
Hopefully, thousands of people will gainthe
confidence to explore new dishes, new wines and
new combinations between them…

18. TheJohn Torode-Neil McGuigan Recipe
Collection
was conceived for McGuigan Wines
by Robert Joseph &
produced by DoILikeIt? Ltd
Please do take a look at it and let us know
what you think.