Xavier Thuizat has a pretty clear idea of what doesn’t go well with sake.

“I think the worst pairing with sake is sushi,” says Thuizat, head sommelier at Hotel de Crillon, a historic luxury hotel in Paris where Marie Antoinette once lived. “Why? Because it’s rice with rice. Do you want to eat grapes with wine?”

Instead, Thuizat prefers to pair a kimoto-style sake with a dish of volaille de bresse chicken in a creamy sauce, or a yamahai-style sake with some French cheese.