Many of the foods considered a luxury today had humble beginnings. Truffles, for example, were an inexpensive treat for the French as recently as 30 years ago. They grew in abundance and were free to whoever found them. Snails, too, which sound so much more enticing as escargots, are now a feature on the menus of Michelin-starred restaurants, but they used to be peasants' food. Sturgeon caviar has never been cheap but the price was reasonable until sturgeon were overfished in the Caspian and Black seas. Of the three main types of sturgeon caviar - beluga, sevruga and oscietra, the sevruga is my favourite. It's less salty and has a thinner membrane than the breathtakingly priced beluga. It has more than a hint of the sea about it and a better textured solidness than the cheaper (but still expensive) oscietra. There are many other types of caviar that are delicious, including those from salmon and Chinese sturgeon. While vodka is a traditional match with caviar, champagne is a more luxurious alternative.

Louis Roederer Cristal 2002, Reims, France

The year 2002 was a cold one in Reims and the resulting fruit was perfect for the lean elegance of the Cristal style. It's unmistakably layered and seems to go on and on in the palate. It's a worthy match with sevruga because the champagne's fine, linear structure almost carves the tiny fish eggs into laser-precise quarters. The combination really demands your full attention, so serve it to those with finely tuned palates.