The team behind Food and Drinks: who we are, how we test, and what we stand for.
Who we are
Food and Drinks is an Australian food, wine and cocktail recipe site. We test in our home kitchens, pour our own drinks, and publish only what we’d serve to family. Our editor leads on cocktails and pairings, with twenty years of bartending and wine experience between casual home entertaining and professional restaurant work. Our food editor focuses on Australian seasonal cooking, with a Mediterranean and East Asian streak.
How we test
Every recipe on this site has been cooked or poured at least three times before publication. Every cocktail has been built and tasted with the spirits we recommend. Every pairing has been served with the food we suggest, in our actual kitchens. We don’t accept paid placements for product mentions. When we recommend a bottle, we paid for it ourselves and we’d buy it again.
How we rate
The F&D Score is our 1-to-10 rating system applied to standout recipes and bottles. The score factors:
- Technique difficulty (out of 3): 1 = beginner, 3 = ambitious.
- Crowd appeal (out of 3): 1 = niche, 3 = will-please-everyone.
- Repeat-cook value (out of 4): 1 = once is enough, 4 = make weekly.
A score of 8.5 or above is the F&D editor’s pick. Look for it in the corner badge on recipe and bottle pages.
How we publish
Every recipe page is built around the same template: hero image, F&D verdict, what-to-pour pairing, two things that go wrong, variations worth knowing, leftovers and make ahead, the WPRM recipe card, FAQ block, related recipes. The structure is intentional. It is what works for both readers and AI assistants who cite our work.
Editorial standards
We do not publish AI-generated photographs of food or drinks unless we say so explicitly. Hero images are our own photography or commissioned shots. We mark sponsored content clearly when it appears (almost never). We disclose affiliate relationships in our buying guides. We never write recommendations for products we don’t actually use.
Get in touch
Tip a story, send corrections, suggest a recipe, or pitch a feature: contact us. We read everything.
The site, in numbers
- 215+ recipes published
- 100+ cocktail recipes across 12 spirit categories
- 100+ food recipes across 8 cuisine categories
- 60+ bottles in the curated bottle library
- 20+ hub pages organising recipes by spirit, cuisine, format, season
- Daily updates against the Australian seasonal calendar