Our values
Pairings:
Taste is subjective, fashion changes.
However Pierre spent 20 years in the service and cellar of a 3 Michelin star restaurant, years during which he searched, explained and advised, day after day, the most beautiful food and wine pairings.
Is the mythical "Accord parfait” (perfect match), where food and wine enhance each other, while including the guests themselves, even possible? Is it always possible to find one sumptuous, refined, baroque, unusual, untouchable ...?
HANDSOMM’s sole pretension is to serve you to propose balanced options. Wine evolves depending on the dish, and vice versa. Not all "wine & food" or "food & wine" pairings will always be perfect but shall they suit you and make you HAPPY.
Recipes:
At the start of the project, Pierre detailed the recipes, and Alain formatted them. But it soon became clear that two types of information were going to be missing:
-those "that don't deserve to appear, because they are… obvious" (1 spoonful of fresh cream in the white butter sauce allows you to wait, without the sauce breaking, every cook knows that!).
-those "that it is not necessary to disclose". (1 tablespoon of good wine vinegar brings up the liveliness of a Bourguignon; but that stays between us). But then, how would we be different from the millions of recipes available on the internet?
So, in order to offer recipes accessible to all, Alain decided to try them out one by one. all dishes were prepared ("many attempts") - a tribute to the American cook Julia Child who listed 524 dishes from French Cuisine in her first book. This work allowed us to propose recipes step by step, without jargon, complete, and including all the little tricks. It is during this cooking that most of photos were taken, without any "culinary stylist", to present the dishes true face.
Scope:
For this 1st version we tried to list (almost) all the dishes eaten in France today. Classics of course (Rabbit in Chasseur Sauce, Lemon Pie...), but also with further influences (Tabbouleh, Peking duck...). From simple dishes (Burgers...) to more complicated ones (Hare à la Royale...).
For drinks we have (almost) all the appellations of French wines and ciders, as well as some of the great French wines, but also the classics of a typical French home bar (port, whisky...).
Handsomm provides an opinion on each of the combinations, nearly 1/2 million records - the largest database of pairing available, the result of more than 10 years of work.
Free & Independent:
HandSomm is completely free for users and is financed by our own money. We simply want to share the know-how. Total independence is our commitment to the quality of provided advice. We will probably include later the possibility of users’ donations to expand the project.
Sources & Acknowledgements:
HandSomm contains data from multiple of the sources listed below and benefited from the help of many people whom we gratefully acknowledge :
Steve Adams
Cecila Barron
Melody David
Catherine Echalier
Raphael Gimenez-Fauvety
Dr Anne Guéna
Raphael Guéna
Annick Janot
Philippe Janot
Caroline Janot
Swapna Kondapuram
Charlotte Loyau-Kahn
Hervé Madelmont
Olivier Magny
Guillaume Parent
Evelyne Pomey
Marie Quatrehomme
Jean-Baptiste Quelquejay
Olivier Quezada
Eric Thirer
Pierre Vimond
Nathalie Vuhong
Clément Weill-Raynal
Sources:
AFSSA, groupe de travail Guides alimentaires du Programme national nutrition-santé (PNNS), Le guide nutrition pendant et après la grossesse. 2007
ANDRIEU, Julie, MARX, Thierry, Les carnets de Julie, France3 (nombreuses émissions/numerous shows)
Association Amicale des Amateurs d'Andouillette(s) Authentique(s)…et d'Andouilles
BAYLAC, Marie-Hélène, Dictionnaire gourmand, Omnibus 2014
BOUBAKEUR, Dalil, Halal et Haram, le licite et l'illicite alimentaire en islam. Paris, 2001.
BRANLARD, Jean-Paul, La table et le droit, LexisNexis, Paris 2014.
BROUE, Caroline, Les bonnes choses, France Culture (nombreuses émissions, numerous shows)
CARISEY, Régis & Ahd, l’Encyclopédie gastronomique – Gastronomiac
CARISEY, Régis, Argot de bouche, Favre
Cattlemen's Beef Board and National Cattlemen's Beef Association 2018
Château Haut-Brion
CHESNAIS, Élisabeth, LANDRY Gaëlle, UFC-QUE CHOISIR, Guide d'achat Quelle eau boire ? 2013
CHILD, Julia, BERTHOLLE, Louisette, BECK, Simone, Mastering the art of French cooking, Alfred A. Knopf, New York 1961
CHILD, Julia, The French chef (nombreuses émissions TV)
CNAOL, CNIEL, On veut du vrai, du bon, du goût (site des AOP laitières)
COFFE, Jean-pierre, Ca se bouffe pas ça se mange, France Inter (nombreuses émissions, numerous shows)
Collection Carré Philo. Edition Milan, Les mots pour goûter aux plaisirs de la table et du vin.
CONSEIL DES INDUSTRIELS LAITIERS DU QUEBEC INC,
CONSISTOIRE DE PARIS, La Cacheroute
COURTIER, Martine, Dictionnaire de la langue du vin. CNRS éditions, 2007
COURTINE (La Reynière), Mes Repas les plus étonnants, Robert Laffont 1973
Dictionnaire LAROUSSE
ESCOFFIER, Auguste, Souvenirs culinaires. Mercure de France, 2014.
FLANZY, Claude, MASSON, Gilles, MILLO, François,... le vin rosé, Féret 2009
FOUNDATION PLANT SERVICE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA DAVIS, national grape registry
FROMAGERIE ANDROUET
FRONTY, Alexandre et Laura, La cuisine au miel, RUSTICA Editions, Paris 1996
GAUDRY, François-Régis (et ses amis), On va déguster, Marabout, Paris 2015
GAUDRY, François-Régis, On va déguster, France Inter (nombreuses émissions, numerous shows)
GODFROY Marion, DECTOT Xavier, L'Histoire passe à table ! Payot, Condé-sur-noireau 2016
Guide Michelin (guide rouge)
INAO, décrets des appellations
INAO, Nosproduits de qualité
INFOMER (pdm-seafoodmag), Guide des espèces, 2018
INPES, Ministère de la Santé et des Solidarités, Guide pratique pour faire le point sur votre consommation d'alcool
INPES, Ministère de la Santé, l’alimentation de la femme pendant la grossesse
INSTITUT FRANCAIS DE LA VIGNE ET DU VIN, INRA, SUPAGRO MONTPELLIER, … Plantgrape, le catalogue des vignes cultivées en France
INSTITUT INTERNATIONAL DU FROMAGE, How to cut cheese
Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO), listes des produits et de leurs cahiers des charges
JOHSON Hugh, ROBINSON Jancis, L'atlas mondial du vin, Flammarion, 2008.
KRUGER, Alain, On ne parle pas la bouche pleine, France Culture (nombreuses émissions/numérous shows)
La-Viande.fr, Association Nationale Interprofessionnelle du Bétail et des Viandes (INTERBEV), Paris 2018
Le Grand Larousse gastronomique, Larousse, 1967
Le Grand Larousse gastronomique, Larousse, 2007.
LEGASSE, Périco, Manger c'est voter, Public Sénat (nombreuses émissions/numerous shows)
Maison Trimbach
MASUI, Kasuko & YAMADA, Tomoko, Encyclopédie des fromages, Gründ, 1997.
MINISTERE DE L'AGRICULTURE , DE L'AGRO-ALIMENTAIRE ET DE LA FORET, Conditions de production des fromages exportés vers les Etats-Unis, NOR: AGRG1228953N, 11 Juillet 2012
NOURISSON, Didier, Crus et cuites Histoire du buveur, édition Perrin, 2013.
PAPY JACQUES, le blog de la cuisine d'antan
PARLEMENT EUROPÉEN ET DU CONSEIL, Règlement n°110/2008 concernant la définition, la désignation, la présentation, l'étiquetage et la protection des indications géographiques des boissons spiritueuses, JO 2008
PITTE Jean-Robert, Les accords mets-vins, CNRS Editions, Clamecy 2017
PIVOT, Bernard, Dictionnaire amoureux du vin
SCHOTT, Ben, Les miscellanées de Mr. Schott, édition Allia, Paris, 2007
Site web du Le Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins d’Alsace (CIVA)
STRADLEY, Linda, What's cooking America
The salt, what's on your plate, National Public Radio (NPR)
THIS, Hervé, Les secrets de la casserole, Belin 1993.
TOUSSAINT-SAMAT, Maguelonne, Histoire naturelle et morale de la nourriture, Larousse, 1997.
Un plat une histoire (blog)
Université de Loraine, CNRS, Analyse et Traitement informatique de la Langue Française (ATILF).
US FOOD & DRUG ADMINISTRATION, Import Alert 12-03, 12/31/2013
VAUSSION, Bernard, Au service du palais - de Pompidou à Hollande 40 ans dans les cuisines de l'Elysée. Edition du moment, 2014
VIN & SOCIETE, Consommation responsable
VON MUTIUS, Erika and Al., Protection against allergy: study in rural environments (PASTURE), 01/01/2006
WRIGHT, Clifford A., A premier source for Italian and Mediterranean food, cooking, food history and recipes.
Taste is subjective, fashion changes.
However Pierre spent 20 years in the service and cellar of a 3 Michelin star restaurant, years during which he searched, explained and advised, day after day, the most beautiful food and wine pairings.
Is the mythical "Accord parfait” (perfect match), where food and wine enhance each other, while including the guests themselves, even possible? Is it always possible to find one sumptuous, refined, baroque, unusual, untouchable ...?
HANDSOMM’s sole pretension is to serve you to propose balanced options. Wine evolves depending on the dish, and vice versa. Not all "wine & food" or "food & wine" pairings will always be perfect but shall they suit you and make you HAPPY.
Recipes:
At the start of the project, Pierre detailed the recipes, and Alain formatted them. But it soon became clear that two types of information were going to be missing:
-those "that don't deserve to appear, because they are… obvious" (1 spoonful of fresh cream in the white butter sauce allows you to wait, without the sauce breaking, every cook knows that!).
-those "that it is not necessary to disclose". (1 tablespoon of good wine vinegar brings up the liveliness of a Bourguignon; but that stays between us). But then, how would we be different from the millions of recipes available on the internet?
So, in order to offer recipes accessible to all, Alain decided to try them out one by one. all dishes were prepared ("many attempts") - a tribute to the American cook Julia Child who listed 524 dishes from French Cuisine in her first book. This work allowed us to propose recipes step by step, without jargon, complete, and including all the little tricks. It is during this cooking that most of photos were taken, without any "culinary stylist", to present the dishes true face.
Scope:
For this 1st version we tried to list (almost) all the dishes eaten in France today. Classics of course (Rabbit in Chasseur Sauce, Lemon Pie...), but also with further influences (Tabbouleh, Peking duck...). From simple dishes (Burgers...) to more complicated ones (Hare à la Royale...).
For drinks we have (almost) all the appellations of French wines and ciders, as well as some of the great French wines, but also the classics of a typical French home bar (port, whisky...).
Handsomm provides an opinion on each of the combinations, nearly 1/2 million records - the largest database of pairing available, the result of more than 10 years of work.
Free & Independent:
HandSomm is completely free for users and is financed by our own money. We simply want to share the know-how. Total independence is our commitment to the quality of provided advice. We will probably include later the possibility of users’ donations to expand the project.
Sources & Acknowledgements:
HandSomm contains data from multiple of the sources listed below and benefited from the help of many people whom we gratefully acknowledge :
Steve Adams
Cecila Barron
Melody David
Catherine Echalier
Raphael Gimenez-Fauvety
Dr Anne Guéna
Raphael Guéna
Annick Janot
Philippe Janot
Caroline Janot
Swapna Kondapuram
Charlotte Loyau-Kahn
Hervé Madelmont
Olivier Magny
Guillaume Parent
Evelyne Pomey
Marie Quatrehomme
Jean-Baptiste Quelquejay
Olivier Quezada
Eric Thirer
Pierre Vimond
Nathalie Vuhong
Clément Weill-Raynal
Sources:
AFSSA, groupe de travail Guides alimentaires du Programme national nutrition-santé (PNNS), Le guide nutrition pendant et après la grossesse. 2007
ANDRIEU, Julie, MARX, Thierry, Les carnets de Julie, France3 (nombreuses émissions/numerous shows)
Association Amicale des Amateurs d'Andouillette(s) Authentique(s)…et d'Andouilles
BAYLAC, Marie-Hélène, Dictionnaire gourmand, Omnibus 2014
BOUBAKEUR, Dalil, Halal et Haram, le licite et l'illicite alimentaire en islam. Paris, 2001.
BRANLARD, Jean-Paul, La table et le droit, LexisNexis, Paris 2014.
BROUE, Caroline, Les bonnes choses, France Culture (nombreuses émissions, numerous shows)
CARISEY, Régis & Ahd, l’Encyclopédie gastronomique – Gastronomiac
CARISEY, Régis, Argot de bouche, Favre
Cattlemen's Beef Board and National Cattlemen's Beef Association 2018
Château Haut-Brion
CHESNAIS, Élisabeth, LANDRY Gaëlle, UFC-QUE CHOISIR, Guide d'achat Quelle eau boire ? 2013
CHILD, Julia, BERTHOLLE, Louisette, BECK, Simone, Mastering the art of French cooking, Alfred A. Knopf, New York 1961
CHILD, Julia, The French chef (nombreuses émissions TV)
CNAOL, CNIEL, On veut du vrai, du bon, du goût (site des AOP laitières)
COFFE, Jean-pierre, Ca se bouffe pas ça se mange, France Inter (nombreuses émissions, numerous shows)
Collection Carré Philo. Edition Milan, Les mots pour goûter aux plaisirs de la table et du vin.
CONSEIL DES INDUSTRIELS LAITIERS DU QUEBEC INC,
CONSISTOIRE DE PARIS, La Cacheroute
COURTIER, Martine, Dictionnaire de la langue du vin. CNRS éditions, 2007
COURTINE (La Reynière), Mes Repas les plus étonnants, Robert Laffont 1973
Dictionnaire LAROUSSE
ESCOFFIER, Auguste, Souvenirs culinaires. Mercure de France, 2014.
FLANZY, Claude, MASSON, Gilles, MILLO, François,... le vin rosé, Féret 2009
FOUNDATION PLANT SERVICE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA DAVIS, national grape registry
FROMAGERIE ANDROUET
FRONTY, Alexandre et Laura, La cuisine au miel, RUSTICA Editions, Paris 1996
GAUDRY, François-Régis (et ses amis), On va déguster, Marabout, Paris 2015
GAUDRY, François-Régis, On va déguster, France Inter (nombreuses émissions, numerous shows)
GODFROY Marion, DECTOT Xavier, L'Histoire passe à table ! Payot, Condé-sur-noireau 2016
Guide Michelin (guide rouge)
INAO, décrets des appellations
INAO, Nosproduits de qualité
INFOMER (pdm-seafoodmag), Guide des espèces, 2018
INPES, Ministère de la Santé et des Solidarités, Guide pratique pour faire le point sur votre consommation d'alcool
INPES, Ministère de la Santé, l’alimentation de la femme pendant la grossesse
INSTITUT FRANCAIS DE LA VIGNE ET DU VIN, INRA, SUPAGRO MONTPELLIER, … Plantgrape, le catalogue des vignes cultivées en France
INSTITUT INTERNATIONAL DU FROMAGE, How to cut cheese
Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO), listes des produits et de leurs cahiers des charges
JOHSON Hugh, ROBINSON Jancis, L'atlas mondial du vin, Flammarion, 2008.
KRUGER, Alain, On ne parle pas la bouche pleine, France Culture (nombreuses émissions/numérous shows)
La-Viande.fr, Association Nationale Interprofessionnelle du Bétail et des Viandes (INTERBEV), Paris 2018
Le Grand Larousse gastronomique, Larousse, 1967
Le Grand Larousse gastronomique, Larousse, 2007.
LEGASSE, Périco, Manger c'est voter, Public Sénat (nombreuses émissions/numerous shows)
Maison Trimbach
MASUI, Kasuko & YAMADA, Tomoko, Encyclopédie des fromages, Gründ, 1997.
MINISTERE DE L'AGRICULTURE , DE L'AGRO-ALIMENTAIRE ET DE LA FORET, Conditions de production des fromages exportés vers les Etats-Unis, NOR: AGRG1228953N, 11 Juillet 2012
NOURISSON, Didier, Crus et cuites Histoire du buveur, édition Perrin, 2013.
PAPY JACQUES, le blog de la cuisine d'antan
PARLEMENT EUROPÉEN ET DU CONSEIL, Règlement n°110/2008 concernant la définition, la désignation, la présentation, l'étiquetage et la protection des indications géographiques des boissons spiritueuses, JO 2008
PITTE Jean-Robert, Les accords mets-vins, CNRS Editions, Clamecy 2017
PIVOT, Bernard, Dictionnaire amoureux du vin
SCHOTT, Ben, Les miscellanées de Mr. Schott, édition Allia, Paris, 2007
Site web du Le Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins d’Alsace (CIVA)
STRADLEY, Linda, What's cooking America
The salt, what's on your plate, National Public Radio (NPR)
THIS, Hervé, Les secrets de la casserole, Belin 1993.
TOUSSAINT-SAMAT, Maguelonne, Histoire naturelle et morale de la nourriture, Larousse, 1997.
Un plat une histoire (blog)
Université de Loraine, CNRS, Analyse et Traitement informatique de la Langue Française (ATILF).
US FOOD & DRUG ADMINISTRATION, Import Alert 12-03, 12/31/2013
VAUSSION, Bernard, Au service du palais - de Pompidou à Hollande 40 ans dans les cuisines de l'Elysée. Edition du moment, 2014
VIN & SOCIETE, Consommation responsable
VON MUTIUS, Erika and Al., Protection against allergy: study in rural environments (PASTURE), 01/01/2006
WRIGHT, Clifford A., A premier source for Italian and Mediterranean food, cooking, food history and recipes.