Comfort Food Wine Pairings

The following is an interview I had with StarChefs a few months back about Comfort Food Wine Pairings... http://www.starchefs.com/


Star Chefs: At SugarToad, you paired a Farmer's Board: Pate de Campagne, Corned Beef Heart, Face Bacon, and Chicken Liver Guanciale with Clendenen Family Vineyards, Tocai Friulano And a S'More, Panna Cotta, Graham Cracker Tuile, Burnt Meringue with a drink called "George Washington's Eggnog" Can you tell us about these pairings, and how your “somm” sensibilities kick in with "comfort food" pairings?


Tim: “Somm” sense kicks in with a point of reference. Growing up, my favorite soda was Dr. Pepper, and this is my comfort non-alcoholic beverage of choice. I have trained myself not to let these flavor profiles I subjectively prefer to effect my objective decision making process in pairing wines and beverage with comfort food.


The Farmer’s Board Pairing was at the beginning of the meal, so I felt a clean refreshing white was needed. The Clendenen Family Tocai Friulano fits this need. There were several elements within the Farmer’s Board—the housemade pickles, richness of pates, and some floral pickling spices that the wine pairs well with. The wine sees neutral oak treatment and has a floral pear component with enough complexity to mimic many of the elements on the Farmer’s Board.


I believe I intended to pair The Rare Wine Co. “New York Malmsey” Madeira with the S’mores Soup, and the GW Eggnog as a “Liquid Mignardises,” if you will. There is nothing more American than Madeira. It is rich with toasty caramel notes and plays well with the “burnt” components of the S’Mores.


Star Chefs: What would you consider comfort food?


Tim: Food that evokes memories and alters our psychological state for the positive. It can be savory of sweet and tends to be filling. I think there are national comfort foods like Mac N’ Cheese and Peanut Butter and Jelly, but great regional ones. I live in Chicagoland and some of the great comfort foods here are Lou Malnati’s Deep Dish Pizza, Vienna Beef Hot Dogs with all the “Chicago” garnishes and Portillo’s Italian Beef with sweet and spicy peppers.


Star Chefs: How do you pair with it?


Tim: The approach I take with comfort food pairings tend to be non-cerebral, pleasurable, and to help us to relax.


Star Chefs: Do you feel more freedom pairing with "comfort food," than with an "upscale" dish?


Tim: Yes, I think comfort food let’s you get more creative. When there are “upscale” dishes you tend to have more elements on the plate and the pairings become more difficult and technical. With more complicated dishes, you have very specific wines that need to be paired with them. Comfort food allows for pairings with very simple one-dimensional wines and Domaine Leroy Grand Cru Burgundy!


Star Chefs: Do you feel lower price point pairings apply b/c it's comfort food, e.g. pair with a cheaper wine or beer or spirit?


Tim: No, in fact, I remember being at a tasting with Master Sommelier Fred Dame and he told a story about drinking a 1910 Haut Brion in Magnum with a pepperoni pizza. I think that we have a responsibility to our clients to be flexible to pair wines at all price points, but generally speaking, we tend to drink lower priced beverages with comfort food.


I currently pair a lot of local craft beer with a short rib “burger.” Clients tend to look for their “comfort” beverage. If a client asks for their comfort “beer” from a national brand, I try to at least guide them to something local from Chicago like Goose Island or Two Brothers Brewery.


Star Chefs: How do you play around with the character of comfort food?


Tim: My Comfort scale is: Strong character needs strong wine. Delicate character needs delicate wine.

Star Chefs: Do you think expectations for pairings change as culinary presentation changes?


Tim: Yes, especially with all the Avante Garde to Molecular things going on right now. I find clients talking more and more about cocktail and beer pairings all the time, which makes it challenging. A client might request a cocktail to be paired with their entrée and craft beer with dessert.


Star Chefs: In "comfort food" flavor you're looking at key players like salt, sweet, spicy, and seriously savory. Key "comfort food" textures are crunchy, smooth, and of course the richness of fat. What does this mean for you as a sommelier? And what else have you encountered?


Tim: This question immediately evokes a memory of a “Simpsons” episode where Homer tastes baking soda that had been in the fridge for a while and says “So many flavors!” As a sommelier, I want to understand the “why” and “why not” of all the flavor and texture players. In some of my strange experiments I have tasted things I know which are horribly offensive together, just to understand why they are offensive to my own subjective palate.


Star Chefs: What is one of your favorite comfort food pairings, either at home or at work?


Tim: PB & J with Malbec.