Sometimes, the most memorable, most delicious, most evocative food-and-drink combinations are not the most extravagant dishes matched with the finest wines. Sometimes, gastronomic nirvana can be discovered in the most humble of pairings. Take this classic, but utterly perfect combo of salty, savoury grissini and bittersweet Campari: all elements of the food and the drink are designed to tantalise the taste-buds, to get those juices flowing, so you can move on to the next stage of the meal with a keen palate and hunger.

Mixing it with Campari
The simplest and most refreshing way to drink Campari is by adding a good slug of soda water to the lovely red liquid, poured over ice, with a twist of orange (or popping the top on one of those cute little pre-mixed bottles and dropping in a straw).An equally great-tasting drink can be obtained by mixing one part Campari to two-parts intensely flavoured citrus juice – blood orange or pink grapefruit are fabulous choices as the touch of bitterness in both fruits matches the bitterness of the Campari well. The classiest Campari-based drink of all, though, is the Spritz – the Venetian’s late-afternoon drink of choice. To a large tumbler full of ice, add a strip of lime peel, one part Campari to two-to-three parts prosecco (the refreshing white sparkling wine from the Veneto) and top up with mineral water. — Max Allen