French Food Decoder vs The Wine Ledger

The perfect companion for any English speaker visiting or living in France, the FRENCH FOOD DECODER is the most comprehensive app of its kind. Several years in the making, it includes over 1,260 articles covering the gamut of one of the world’s greatest cuisines. With its superb ‘search’ engine the app provides instant translations of French food names, terms, and cooking techniques into English. Even if you’ve had years of French, it will help you read those excruciatingly complex menus, shop for food or try out a French recipe at home. If you’ve never studied French, it will save your bacon. But the FRENCH FOOD DECODER is far more than a mere dictionary. In-depth articles feature anecdotes and background information that put France’s culinary culture at your fingertips. The app is organised by French regions as well as headings (Pastries, Fish and Seafood, Charcuterie, Sauces etc) so you know what to look for (and what to avoid!) as you travel around France. A useful map that works offline locates the home of hundreds of local specialities. * Discover the different kinds of restaurants in France and how to order, plus a special section on food allergies, intolerances and vegetarians and vegans. * Special entries cover French cuts of beef, pork, chicken and duck, along with useful wine words, fish words and cheese terms * Learn about the Five Mother Sauces and their children, the names of everything in the kitchen, edible wild mushrooms, all about Cognac and French cheese terms — and which cheese is the smelliest (clue: its nickname is the ‘devil’s suppository’)! ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dana Facaros has lived in France for over 30 years, raised two children there and co-authored with her husband Michael Pauls dozens of Cadogan, Footprint, DK and Bradt guides, most recently the Bradt Guides to the Dordogne and Lot, and to Gascony and the Pyrenees. She has also contributed to numerous UK publications, including Wanderlust, the Sunday Times, Which? and National Geographic Traveller.

The Wine Ledger is a straightforward tool for anyone who wants to keep track of the wines they drink and understand how their preferences evolve. Instead of star ratings or long tasting notes, the app uses direct comparisons: choose which of two wines you prefer, and an ELO-style system updates their relative strengths. Over time, your personal ranking becomes clearer and more representative of what you actually like. Key features • My Wines Your personal wine list, generated entirely from wines you’ve interacted with. Your current favourite is highlighted automatically. You can revisit past match results, track how wines rise or fall, and follow how your taste changes. • All Wines A shared reference list of wines available to all users. Before adding a new wine, you can quickly check whether it already exists. Each wine entry includes essential details such as winery, region, country, and vintage, along with its match history. • Compare Wines (“Drink Now”) Choosing Drink Now lets you compare two wines directly. Select the wine you prefer, and both ELO scores update instantly to reflect the outcome. • Add or Explore Vintages If you’ve opened a different vintage of a wine you already know, Drink a Different Vintage allows you to create a new vintage entry—without duplicating anything that already exists. You can then compare it like any other wine. • Clean, simple structure The app focuses on clarity: minimal screens, essential details, and a system that rewards real-life decisions rather than theoretical ratings. The Wine Ledger is built for wine drinkers who want an honest, evolving picture of their preferences—without complicated scoring systems, note libraries, or social feeds. Just your wines, your choices, and a ranking that reflects what you truly enjoy.