The wine list is a combination of both New and Old World wines that’s in constant flux; varieties are added or taken away all the time. Craig particularly enjoys trying to match more unusual or unconventional wines wherever he can, and Obsession provides him with the perfect opportunity to experiment. The difficulty, however, is that the team can’t actually taste the dishes that are going to be served until the night itself – so there can be a little guesswork beforehand. ‘If we’re unsure about a dish, we’ll ask Nigel and Lisa to mock up the flavours,’ explains Craig. ‘For example, we had a dish that combined almond with dill – we weren’t sure how that was going to work, so we had them cook a mock up of how it would taste. It was nothing like the final dish but the flavour points were there and we were able to work with that.’

The actual process Craig and his team go through to decide which wines to pair with the dishes can vary greatly. ‘We sometimes look at where a dish comes from,’ he says. ‘If it’s a fish dish, then we know that the French coast, Portugal, Spain and Italy all produce great wines that match. We can also look at classical pairings; for example, we know foie gras generally goes with a sweeter wine – however, myself and Tamas [Northcote’s head sommelier] prefer something less sweet. We’re always looking for something different.’

However, the one thing Craig stresses more than anything is that wine is there to be enjoyed. ‘If you prefer to drink red wine with fish, then do,’ he says. ‘It’s like music – there are a billion scores and so many notes in the world, you could never put them all together. Wine and food are exactly the same; people should never forget it’s about what you like and what you want to do.’