Anyone following some of my recent tweets will have seen quite a stir (at least from myself) around a tequila dinner that I was hosting.

The event was an on-trade get together for around 25-30 bartenders in the Bournemouth area, based around the subject of Tequila. I work with a number of Tequila brands including Jose Cuervo, Don Julio, 1800 and Centenario. The idea was to run a five course meal with a different Tequila to match each course. Some of you might be wondering how or why Tequila could possibly be used to pair with food; I’ll answer by telling you that Tequila is a much under-appreciated and highly versatile spirit that has all the flavour and nuances to work in perfect synergy with some lovely dishes.

I worked with the chefs at Urban Beach and Green & Red to develop a tasting menu that would complement the Jose Cuervo and Don Julio ranges of Tequila. Pairing spirits with food is very much like pairing wine, you look for things like acidity and freshness to cut through fat, and things like tannin and bitterness to help break down meaty dishes. The interesting thing about tequila specifically is that it often provides wonderful vegetal notes and plenty of peppery finish, meaning that the scope for food pairing is as big as you are prepared to go!

Here is the menu that we ran:

1st Course

Jose Cuervo Platino Martinez, paired with anchovie, black olive and sun blushed tomato twists.
The combination of the cocktail and the salty pastry twists worked really well here, plenty of flavour and a good appetizer.

2nd Course

Jose Cuervo Platino, served with red mullet escabeche.
The citrus and earthy punches of the tequila worked beautifully here with the sweet pickled flavours of the fish. This was probably the best match of all, with both parts of the course bouncing off each other wonderfully.

3rd Course

Jose Cuervo Tradicional, served with lemon oil chicken and coriander.
A slightly more mellowed reposado requires less zing in the food it is matched with. This dish was fresh, warm and herbacious and another great match for a slightly oak influenced Tequila.

4th Course

Don Julio Anejo, served with black pepper panna cotta and strawberry and pink peppercorn coulis.
A touch more vanilla in the Tequila meant that the creamy flavours of panna cotta worked really well, the coulis reintroduced fruit and pepper to match the more punchy side of the liquid.

5th Course

Jose Cuervo Reserva de la Familia Old Fashioned.
This drink was served entirely on its own, though for a little bit of fun we asked that the guests make their own! Large measures of tequila, old fashioned glasses rinsed with bitters and bowls of agave nectar were passed around with spoons and plenty of ice.

I think that the night was a great success and I really enjoyed talking about the liquid and the food that we had matched with it in-between courses. Hopefully everyone went away with a little more understanding of Tequila and a little less inclination to indulge in that classic pairing of poor quality with salt & lemon..!

If you would like any more info on the pairings, leave a comment and i’ll endeavor to answer.

Big thanks to Urban Reef for hosting, Urban Beach for assisting, Ben for cooking and Jimmy for a bit of everything!

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