The Harrods Guide to Gourmet Food

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.

Want to learn more? Consult our expert buyers caviar guide for how to store, serve and cook with the delicacy.

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.

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.

Ready to put your new knowledge to the test? Make sure you're serving in style with a table dressed to the nines and our pick of the most sophisticated glassware, tableware, and cutlery.