When we describe something – or someone – as an ‘acquired taste’, it is rarely a compliment. If we say it of Sharon, for example, it means that she is a bit of a pain in the neck. It’s the same with food: olives, anchovies and oysters are some of the finest foodstuffs on God’s earth but sometimes, in order to truly enjoy them, you have to first quiet your inner doubts by tuning out all the reasons why other people don’t like them. 

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Those of us who like to devote time to thinking about matching food and booze get called snobs – but we all do it all the time. You would probably choose to have a mug of tea rather than a cup of coffee with fish and chips – and fair play to you if you do. But you might not consider how well a full-fat Coca-Cola would go with your morning cornflakes, or a chocolate truffle with Horlicks, until you happen to be grossly hungover.  

We tend not to mind mixologists doing it for us by, for example, infusing an ice-cold vodka shot with a little jalapeno chilli – so why not go one step further and serve a delicious vodka cocktail alongside a prawn or corn chip doused in hot, spicy salsa? 

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