Lunches
27 August 2024 Mark Bradford
Food review by James Hill and wine review by Steve Liebeskind
Food
Our cheese master Mark Bradford was in the kitchen today cooking for our monthly wine tasting.
Canapés
We love sausage rolls, and we had two types today. Firstly “Thai style" with red curry, coconut, panko and fish sauce followed by “French style" with French onion soup powder and Dijon mustard.
Both were eagerly devoured by members.
Then came Denys Moore's secret pâte on mini toast with sliced cucumber. I thought I could taste some truffle in the pâte which was somewhat hidden by the largish slices cucumber. Good flavour and mouthfeel.
Main
We sat to an entrée of cream of potato and leek soup with dukkha and fennel frond garnish to enjoy while tasting our wines.
Our main was advertised as ‘coq au vin with a twist’. Mark presented a coq au vin pie, and it was a good match for our wines today.
They were in blind baked shortcrust pastry shells with a stew of chicken thigh, lardons, French shallots, sliced button mushrooms, garlic, flour, Bordeau, Maggie Beer chicken stock, bay leaf, thyme sprigs. The chicken was removed and shredded to fit the pie, vegetables and lardons put on top and baked for 15 minutes. Topped with half ruby burst tomato and seated on zucchini and rice tian (based on Julia Child recipe). Stacked potato gratin with gruyere cheese, Lurpak butter, heavy cream, thyme initially baked in muffin pan.
A lot of thought and effort in today’s lunch and we were well rewarded with flavour and texture marriage perfect for lunch.
Merci Mark.
Cheese
In theme, Mark presented a French hard cow’s milk cheese ‘Bourgogne-Franche-Comté’.
Made from unpasteurised milk, this hard-cooked raw milk cheese is made at small dairies or fruitieres using the milk from several herds of Montbeliard cows.
This cheese was matured in the damp underground cellars of Marcel Petite at Fort Saint Antoine high in the mountains that border France and Switzerland in the Franche-Comte.
It’s specially selected to wear the prestigious red ‘crown’ of quality on the basis of its rich concentrated nutty texture, elegant caramel sweetness, and lingering kaleidoscope of flavours rather than on how long it is aged.
Simply served with some almonds and sliced Packham pears.
Wine
Canapé wines
2009 Hugel Jubilee Riesling, Alsace. This wine was an absolute pleasure for an aperitif. At 13.5% we were presented with a wine showing some yellowing after 15 years of age from a bottle under cork. There was good fresh fruit, slight sweetness and some minerality but this was balanced out with good acid structure. The wine had a level of complexity and balance, good length and thoroughly enjoyable for all. Well received by the members.
Tasting wines
1 2007 E. Guigal Saint-Joseph Vignes de L'Hospice Syrah. The 2007 was a good vintage and this wine showed developed earthy, herbal notes alongside its dark fruit and spice. It was an honest wine and showed well. Mind you as it stayed in the glass it did fade indicating it should be drunk now.
2 2007 E. Guigal Cote Rôtie Brune Et Blonde Syrah and some Viognier. This was a highlight wine of the day. It showed as an elegant, integrated and well-balanced wine with soft tannins and complex layers of florals and smoke. There was good length and stayed strong in the glass.
3 2007 Tyrrell's Vat 9 Shiraz 2007 was the vintage of the decade, and it showed. The wine showed balanced acidity, savoury earth tones with good length, and a smart finish. This was a medium-bodied wine based on 13.5% alcohol, complex, and drinking at its peak with a number of years ahead of itself. A comment about possible VA with lifted acid was made.
4 2006 Tyrrell's 4 Acres Shiraz. While 2006 didn’t reach the heights of 2007 as a general vintage, it was a good year, which allowed the quality of a single vineyard to shine through. Great colour, balance, length, soft structure, and an elegant finish. Good acid and still has its life ahead of it. There were tertiary notes of tobacco and leather. The 4 Acres was a complex wine void of bret and scored slightly higher than the Vat 9.
5 2006 Seppelt St Peters Grampian Shiraz. Moving to the Grampians in Victoria and one of Stephen O’Halloran’s favourites, we had a wine from an excellent vintage. The St Peters had a firm, spicy profile with added complexity and cedar/leathery nuances. Showing extremely well for an 18-year-old wine under screw cap. A please to drink and close to being a gold medal wine.
6 2006 Penfolds RWT Barossa Valley Shiraz. Moving into South Australia we were expecting the alcohol to dominate. In fact, this wine had great richness and complexity, with the wine evolving into dried fruit and chocolate and had a velvety texture. This was an excellent wine with its life ahead of it. While the alcohol was there it was elegant and with extra breathing, the wine softened with breathing. Like the Vat 9 was there a bit of VA to lift acidity (an old Penfold trick)? This created good discussion and interest.
All wines were good to very good and in fact it was up to the individual persons' style and preference when assessing a ranking. All wines were high-scoring and certainly, there were no duds. All in attendance enjoyed the wines and personal preference created great discussion. While some may not enjoy some Shiraz, the audience gave praise to the wines and the order served. These wines complemented the terrific main and cheese presented. Standouts were the Brune et Blonde, RWT and 4 Acres.
20 August 2024 Amosh and REX team
Food review by James Hill and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
A full house for our truffle lunch today with new head chef Amosh at the Royal Exchange preparing our main course with truffles very generously donated by member David Gregory. Steve Liebeskind and yours truly prepared the canapés.
Canapes
Canapés were topped with scraped and shaved truffle.
- Warmed leek and potato soup aka vichyssois in a shot glass.
- Goat’s cheese on crostini.
- Vic’s meats black truffle salami kurobuta rare breed pork pinned with radish.
- Seared roast beef topped with enoki mushrooms and truffle sitting on pea purée and toasted bread. The truffle pea purée was made a day before for a flavour boost.
Main course
Chicken pithivier on chicken cream sauce with bowls of pomme purée and lashings of truffle!
Breasts of chicken were seared and then marinated overnight with seasoning and paprika. The pie filling was made with truffle, shiitake mushroom, bechamel sauce, seeded mushroom and tarragon.
Butter pastry was used for the and it sat on a sauce made from leftover bechamel sauce, chicken stock, Dijon mustard shredded truffle and cream. It was an interesting observation that salt highlighted the truffle aroma.
As many commented it looked simple yet a complex dish, as Richard Gibson said “the ultimate comfort food yet fine dining quality”.
A flavoursome pie filling with not overly creamy delicate texture and perfectly presented.
It was Amoush’s solo first lunch cooking for us since being made Head Chef and he was presented with a chef’s toque as a token of appreciation by our Society.
Canapés and main were highly commended and enjoyed by members at lunch today.
Cheese
Many had an idea of the cheese (French origin?) today presented by our master Mark Bradford however when revealed it was a pleasant surprise as it was a high-quality Australian cheese. It was Woombye Cheese Company Triple Cream Brie Artisan Cow's Milk White from Queensland.
Woombye Triple Cream Brie is made using this fine quality local milk to which extra cream is added. This extra cream means that below the delicate white bloomy rind found on the outside, there is a deliciously rich and creamy paste. This cheese is turned by hand every day throughout its maturation to allow the rind to develop perfectly.
Accompanied by a salad of mixed leaves and tomato and a dried fig softened with brandy and star anise.
Wine
Today our resident sous Chef Amosh, became our resident Head Chef with the departure of Rob Doll. So today it was Amosh on the high wire, without a net, and boy did he come through with flying colours! The main course was a chicken and mushroom truffle pithivier with creamy truffle mash, in a word magnificent! Congratulations to our new Chef. Steve Liebeskind and James Hill created some superb pass-arounds, so we were well fed, to say the least. See the full food report for more detail.
The aperitif wines were two top Chardonnays, first a Curley Flat and the second a Yabby Lake, both from 2015. Of the two, the general consensus favoured the Yabby Lake. To my taste, the Curley Flat had a hard to identify problem on the first sip. The wine was fairly deep yellow and now being 9 yo, perhaps a little oxidised? The flavour was still good, very buttery with some oak evident. Very much like a Chardonnay made in the 1980s. By no means unpleasant, the wine left me thinking, was there a winemaking fault or just getting on a bit?
The second wine presented no such issues, it was a delight. Much lighter in colour and texture, well balanced with generous fruit and acid, taught and disciplined on the mid-palate, finishing with a crisp lingering taste. A top wine. More please.
For the main course, the first was a Tolpuddle Pinot 2014 from Tasmania 12.5%. Great PN nose, with a medium weight. A very good Australian PN, however when compared to the following wine its one dimensional character became obvious. Nothing wrong with the wine at all, left alone would be well regarded, but the contrast with the following French PN showed its lack of complexity.
The second wine was the Cheron Chambolle-Musigny also from 2014 12.8%. These French folk really know how to make great PN. Considerably denser in colour than the Tolpuddle, with a more alluring mouthfeel, and a clean finish. Beautiful balance of fruit, acid, soft tannins and gentle oak. In my view a really lovely wine, wish I had some. A great choice for today’s lunch.
Third wine was a Massolino Langhe Nebbiolo 2014 13.5%. Apparently an entry-level Nebbiolo which to me was more than just acceptable, indeed I really enjoyed it. Medium weight and quite elegant despite the usual strong tannic and acidic taste of this particular grape. A perfect food wine, as the Italians are such masters in creating. A smooth but firm finish with hints of tar and licorice for which this grape is well known. If this is entry-level, please escort me to the next level!
The final wine for the day was a beauty, the Tyrrells Vat 9 Shiraz 2014, 13.9%. The vintage of 2014 is widely regarded as one of the best in the Hunter for decades, perfect growing conditions produced wonderful reds and whites in that year. For this reason, I was really excited about tasting this wine, one of Tyrrell's top reds. The wine presented in glass with deep black/purple hues, and a strong aroma of dark fruits and spice. On the palate, the wine was superb, great balance, elegant yet powerful with restrained oak and tannin aspects. Plenty of acid still, resulting in a clean satisfying aftertaste. No sign of ageing, I see this wine drinking with excellence well into the next decade. Whilst I was a great fan of the Musigny, I was super impressed with the Vat 9, a classic Hunter destined for greatness.
13 August 2024 Steve Liebeskind
Food review by James Hill and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
Chef of renown Steve Liebeskind was in the kitchen today cooking for our mixed lunch, he was assisted by member David Simmonds.
Canapes
- Fennel puree on puff pastry with salmon on top – fennel and fennel seeds cooked with butter and stock, pureed
- Marinated herring on pumpernickel – the herring was combined with red onion, grated green apple and cream
- Steak tartare on pressed puffed pastry – eye fillet finely chopped, onion, cornichons, anchovy, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and tabasco sauce
Bountiful interesting and flavoursome canapés today were much appreciated and commented on by members and guests.
Main
This was a fine dining quality dish today with lots of ingredients that came together on the plate eye-pleasing, flavoursome and textural.
Eye fillet (seared and then in oven) with pepper sauce topped with parsnip chips served with mushroom, red cabbage, potato, parsnip mash and brussel sprouts (last two in bowls for table). The eye fillet was perfectly cooked, and we loved the pepper sauce. The mushroom had some soy sauce in the cap to add another flavour burst to our palates.
Many favourable comments on all aspects of our meal today, a lot of effort and preparation evident today. Thanks Steve and David.
Cheese
Presented by yours truly and requested by Steve, one of his favourite cheeses, Fromager D’Affinois Florette.
A goat’s cheese from France, the name d’Affinois is a play on affinage, the French word for the ripening polices of cheese.
Florette is a hexagonal-shaped goat’s milk cheese with a silky consistency made near Pelussin in the Rhone Valley. As it ripens, the cheese becomes quite runny retaining its delicate creamy goat’s milk flavour. It came to the table in perfect condition and temperature.
Steve accompanied the cheese with a salad of green leaf with roast capsicum and roasted slivered almonds and dressed with a vinaigrette.
We were lucky to have a homemade almond biscuit with a walnut top and dark chocolate base to go with our coffee today.
Wine
It was a mixed lunch at the WFS, and it turned out to be a very enjoyable afternoon indeed. Steve Liebeskind put on a terrific meal of roast fillet with all the trimmings, as well as some delicious pass-arounds. An excellent meal, see Food Report for more details. With regard to the wines, we got the party rolling with the best party starter in the game, vintage Champagne! Us blokes only dream of having Vintage Bubbles, but there it was for the ladies a 2012, Ch Duperrey Brut from Epenay, and very nice it was too! Despite the wine now being 12 yo, it had plenty of fizz and great flavour. An excellent match with the herring.
There then followed a dry white from France, a Blouctet Garnier Bichot Aligote 2021 from the Burgundy. A modest 12%, an enjoyable wine, firm and with a crisp finish due to quite a high acidity. The wine is very popular in France as an aperitif wine, lighter in body and flavour compared to a Chardonnay, but nonetheless a pleasing pre-lunch wine.
We then moved on to our main course wines, three Shiraz all from 2010. No problems with ageing, all bottles were in peak condition.
First, was the Lindeman’s Bin 1003 13%, made from grapes grown on the company’s famous Ben Ean Vineyard, one of the oldest in the Hunter. The wine opened with a massive dark colour, huge fruit flavours of cherry and dark plumb. Some sweet oak was present in the mid-palate. Mild tannin and just enough acid to ensure a smooth, clean finish. An excellent wine.
The second wine was my pick of the bracket, the Tyrrells Old Patch 13.4%. This vineyard was originally planted in 1867 and is the oldest producing vineyard in the Hunter. Tyrrells purchased the land from the Stevens Family several years ago, and Bruce Tyrrell considers it to be his favourite bit of dirt. To my taste, this was a wonderful wine, much lighter in body, colour and structure than the preceding wine, yet more flavoursome and powerful in the mid-palate. A velvety combination of oak, tannin and acid producing a wine of elegance, flavour and power, despite its lighter presentation when compared to the Lindemans. I think we have all been fortunate to partake in some of this wonderful wine.
The third wine was the Rosemont Balmoral from McLaren Vale 14.5%. Drinking after the Old Patch was always going to present a challenge to any wine, but in fairness, I think the Balmoral did a fine job. A big wine storms out of the bottle with inky dark fruit flavours of plum, blackberry and black currant. Lots of evidence of oak influence, with strong tannins at the finish. Yet, the wine in its own way was well-balanced and a joy to drink
The final wine was the Tyrrells Bin 63 Semillion/Chardonnay blend 2017, 12.5%. As I made clear in my summation of the wines, I have always disliked this wine right from its inception in the early 1970’s. With the excellent pedigree of Chardonnay and Semillion as its parents I had high hopes for this style, which were soon dashed with my first taste. A boring wine with no appealing aspects. Why ruin a nice Chardy or a nice Sem by mixing them together? The best features of its parent wines were not reproduced in their offspring, a nondescript, flavourless dullard of a wine to be avoided if at all possible. However, being a fair man, giving credit if and when due, I must say that the wine was a reasonable partner for the pungent strong flavours of the excellent goat’s cheese. Despite this throw away parting gesture of a few crumbs of praise, I can assure you all that there has never been a bottle of this wine in my cellar.
6 August 2024 Greg Sproule
Food review by James Hill and wine review by James Tinslay
Food
Greg Sproule former Food Master was in the kitchen today allegedly preparing a meal of (allegedly) Persian Lamb.
Greg told us his inspiration came from some young Persian people who he had met recently. He was interested in their food and culture.
They help source the ingredients and recipe for today’s lunch.
Canapés
First up some Dolmas – vine-wrapped rice, beef spiced with cinnamon, cloves and lemon juice (note Persian/ Iranian variation of this dish is square wraps with beef added) all the flavour was there, the vine leaves needed some steaming to make it easier to bite into as they were quite chewy and very moist.
Then some chicken kababs – Greek yogurt, saffron, lime, lemon and onion chicken skewers again flavoursome however a tad dry.
Main
Greg arrived for prep at 12:35 pm which made things a little hectic in the kitchen. All the ingredients were but there they just needed to be put together.
President Bill Alexiou rolled his sleeves up and directed the proceedings. It was Amosh’s first lunch as Head Chef and they did a great job getting the food out albeit later than usual. This dish should have come with a content warning as small sour cherries were used unfortunately, as some found out, still seeded.
Persian jewelled rice – cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, apricots, pistachio, onion, saffron
Khoresht e Ghormeh Sabzi – (King of Persian cuisine) – Beef, onion, leek, parsley, cilantro, fenugreek, lime turmeric
Fesenjam – (Queen of Persian cuisine) – Duck, walnuts ground, pomegranate molasses, cinnamon, onion, pomegranate seeds.
The flavours and aroma were authentic it came together with a blending of fresh and dried ingredients to create the dish.
Cheese
Our cheese master Mark Bradford sourced some Persian feta from the Yarra Valley.
Fetta cheese made with pasteurised cow’s milk, salt, canola oil, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, thyme, peppercorns and bay Leaves.
Greg accompanied the cheese with almonds, dates, apricots, pistachio mixture and a
Shirazi Salad – Cucumber, Lettuce, Tomato
Bread today was sourdough from a humble bakery Circular Quay.
Wine
Having written well over 200 wine and food reviews for Society lunches I am somewhat reticent to get back on the treadmill. However, our friend Stephen O’Halloran was unavailable for lunch, so you have my review.
You will see that my review misses the entertaining comments, his research and ‘taking the piss’ approach that Stephen does so well and is much appreciated by members. His entertaining style of writing is a bit weird for a lawyer but then again, I’m a boring engineer! Thank you, Stephen.
As has been happening most weeks Nick our Winemaster is clearing the wine fridge at REX of orphan wines of which we have many. So, only those wines that all tables had will be mentioned.
We had two main wines with canapés. We started with the Günther Steinmetz Kestener Herrenberg Riesling 2011. This German Mosel wine of 13 years of age was more than interesting with solid Riesling fruit on the palate with a slight touch of residual sugar despite being predominantly dry in style. Very German. It had developed a degree of complexity over the years and was most enjoyable.
The second wine was Tyrrell’s HVD Semillon 2014. This wine was enjoyed around the room with the canapés, and it ticked all the boxes for a 10-year-old Semillon from Tyrrell’s. It has a future, and we hope to see it again.
The first of two wines shared by all at table (as I recall) was Curly Flat Pinot Noir 2016 from the Macedon ranges. Their wines have a very good reputation and are not priced for the bargain bin. The meniscus was quite brown, and the nose was mature. Surprisingly, I found this wine past its best. Unbalanced with some sweetness the major component. It improved marginally in the glass. Others like that old over-mature style.
The second was the Seppelt Drumborg Riesling also 2016. This wine had everything you wanted in a Riesling, dry, with good acid balance and obvious Riesling character.
30 July 2024 Peter Kelso
Food review by Mark Bradford and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
Today was the last Tuesday for popular REX head chef Rob Doll, regarded highly by the Society members who opt to cook at our weekly lunch. He will be missed. Longstanding member and former President, Peter Kelso, was the final COTD in the kitchen with Rob, assisted with canapes by Jonathan Casson. “A chef and two lawyers” for this wine tasting lunch.
Canapés
First up, Peter presented gravlax salmon with a mustard dill sauce on toast, assembled by the Cheesemaster on the day.
Jonathan prepared an antipasto canapé comprising a baked salami cup holding Philadelphia cream cheese, finely sliced sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts and red peppers with a sliced olive on top. The salami had been arranged into a shallow muffin tray and baked for 10 minutes at 185°.
Both received praise and were a good match with the canape Chardonnay.
Main
Peter served us kangaroo loin fillets, marinated in olive oil and crushed juniper berries, then seared quickly, rested and warmed up at the last moment before being sliced and served on a bed of roasted beetroot, carrot and red onion with brown lentils and a touch of cumin, sweet paprika and minced fresh turmeric. It all depended on the ‘roo, and that came to the plate suitably rare, thanks mainly to the ministrations of Rob Doll. Comments were favourable.
Cheese
The cheese today was Le Duc Vacherin, selected by Will Studd. It was an artisan soft surface-ripened washed rind cow’s milk cheese, made in the mountains of the Franche-Comte region of France, using a recipe adapted from the seasonal spruce-bound cheeses of the region. Bound with a thin ring of bark, skilfully cut from local pine trees during the summer months, then ripened in a traditional wooden box, Le Duc Vacherin is best enjoyed when the smooth pinkish rind starts to ripple and bulge. Inside, the cheese softens to a rich, creamy melt-in-the-mouth texture with just a hint of forest. Appreciated by the Members.
Wine
Today’s Board of Fare consisted of fillet of kangaroo and selected vegetables prepared by one of our ex-presidents Peter Kelso. I had images of our intrepid former President in full camo gear and pith helmet, with his trusty Winchester. 243 by his side and a box of 75-grain hollow point ammo in his bandolier, stalking around the plains of NSW searching for a couple of prime Eastern Greys for our meal. Dear members, you will understand my letdown when I was told that our lunch came from the Meat Emporium here in Sydney! Standards are slipping!
In any event, after I had regained my composure, I thought the meal was well presented and tasty, the pass-arounds were excellent and the cheese to finish was superb. Now for the wine.
With the savouries, we drank an agreeable WA Chardonnay made by Larry Cherubino, one of our best winemakers. The wine was called Folklore, 2022 13%. A bit above an entry-level Chardy. The wine was seemingly approved by the room, crisp and fresh with typical Chardonnay flavours. Went well with the pass-arounds. I was doing some wine pours and the wine was well received by all. Perhaps our Winemaster could order some more if the price is right.
Moving onto the first of our lunchtime reds, we had a bracket of two Penfolds favourites, a 2013 Bin 389 and a Bin 407 2012. Both 14.5%. The 389 was a blend of 51 % Cab and 49 % Shiraz, a multi-area wine, as was the 407, a straight Cabernet. To my taste, the 389 was a medium-bodied wine showing typical Penfolds oak and tannin flavours. Dark fruits of blackcurrant flavours were there, but the wine was dominated by the tannin and oak. A bit unbalanced. Acceptable, but in my view not up to the usual high standard for this wine. About the 407, I must declare my hand and advise that I have always regarded this wine as my least favourite of all the Penfolds red wines. The wine presented today as a huge coloured black thing, almost sucking the light out of the room. Inky and fleshy, with again large tannin and oak overtones. To me, 407 has never shown any of the delightful aspects of quality Cabernet. Flat and boring is par for the course I must say about 407. The wine limped along to a tired finish. Overall very underwhelming, but that’s what I have always felt about this particular wine.
Wine no 3 was a Bordeaux from St Emillion, a Ch La Serre 2010 14.5 %. Vintage wise a pretty good year in that region, I enjoyed the wine, a Merlot/Cab Franc blend. Juicy and plummy from the predominant Merlot composition with a smooth velvety tannin finish. Very nice indeed, I actually think I will have another glass, merci garcon.
Wine no 4 was a strange dude, an Italian Super Tuscan, a Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet blend, but unfortunately, this was not a super wine. The wine was a Poggio Mediterra 2010 14%. To my taste, the wine initially presented well, but soon thereafter developed some odd flavours, hard to identify, but unappealing. The finish was dull, possibly due to acid falling away. A disappointment.
Wine 5 was a beauty, my wine of the day by far, the Lindeman’s Pyrus, a Cab blend from 2008, 14%. Of the famous Coonawarra trio, St George, Limestone Ridge and Pyrus, I have always found the Pyrus to be the most attractive, at least to my taste. Whereas St George and Limestone have always followed a predictable path taste-wise, the Pyrus is different, exotic, alluring, wanting to show you more. This no doubt comes from the mixed composition of the wine, Cabernet, Merlot, Malbec and at times Cabernet Franc. Lighter in texture than the others, the wine is elegant, yet complex in its array of flavours, black currant, cedar and spice. Deep crimson colour, medium body weight, and a lingering, fine tannic finish with sufficient acid to see it through to a clean finish. In a word, delightful.
The final wine was the celebrated Yeringberg Cabernet Blend 1999 13.5%. A very historic vineyard in the Coldstream region of Vic, originally planted in the 1860s. The wine today was a blend of Cabernet, Merlot, Cab Franc and Malbec. The wine is now 25 yo and is showing its age. At my table, the consensus of opinion was that the wine was long “past it”, as evidenced by an offensive odour and poor finish. I let some of the wine sit in the glass till the end of lunch, and to my surprise it made a bit of a comeback finishing with a reasonably pleasant finish of stewed fruit consistency. Maybe we were judging the wine prematurely. I heard it suggested from a member that perhaps the wine should have been opened yesterday!
23 July 2024 Nick Reynolds
Food review by James Hill and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
Our Cellar master Nick Reynolds was on the hobs presenting a Spanish-themed lunch. Nick always draws a crowd when he’s cooking and today was no exception.
Canapes
Nick presented three variations on traditional tapas/pintxos for canapés.
The first was 30-sheet patatas bravas. The potatoes are very finely sliced then layered, baked, and pressed. They are then sliced into individual serves and deep fried, then topped with crème fraîche and a bravas sauce of tomatoes, sweet paprika, and olive oil.
Next was another deep-fried tapas, this time panko-crumbed blue cheese and walnut croquettas.
Our final offering was a platter of gildas of guindilla peppers, stuffed olives and Yuritta Cantabrian Anchovies.
Steve Sparkes assisted with the canapés and James Hill provided much welcome assistance with both preparation of the gilda pintxos and plating of the main course.
Main
The main was a deconstructed paella with bomba rice cooked in chicken stock flavoured with saffron and a tomato, garlic, and red pepper sofrito. The protein on the dish comprised sous vide-cooked chicken winglets and drumettes, two La Boqueria Chorizito (small chorizo), steamed mussels, and prawns. The chicken and mussels were drizzled with a lightly thickened saffron, paprika, and chicken stock sauce while the prawns were dredged through a butter and garlic sauce and served topped with chopped parsley. Because the paella was not traditionally cooked and didn’t have the slightly burned crunchy socarrat crust, Nick created a socarrat chip to his own recipe. This was made from paella and tapioca starch, recooked, flattened in a tortilla press then dehydrated and deep fired.
There was an incredible depth of flavour in the rice, while all the other ingredients were perfectly cooked.
Nick created a fine-dining interpretation of a classic Spanish dish.
As Chilly said it ‘wasn’t great it was sensational!’
Cheese
In theme Cheesemaster Prof.Mark Bradford presented a ‘Mahon Curado’ a hard cow’s milk cheese from Menorca Spain. Mark advised that the rind is edible. Nick accompanied the cheese with warmed almonds and raisins soaked for three days in Pedro Ximenez sherry.
Vahon is the capital of the rocky island of Menorca, the most, northerly of the Balearic Islands off the coast of Spain. Cheese has been made on the island since 3000BC. Today, two ancient) breeds of dairy cattle, red Menorquin and black/white spotted rison, graze on dense island grass and are milked on small 'family fincas' or farms which total 600 on Menorca.
Traditionally this cheese was bound in cloth before pressing, which is still done on a small scale on the island. A larger proportion of production is now made in a more efficient modern way which uses square moulds instead.
The result is a consistent cheese that captures the true essence of the original. The rind is still rubbed with olive oil and paprika which imparts a rusty-orange colour to the exterior. The wheels are then ripened for a minimum of 6 months on wooden shelves. When mature oi curado, the cheese maintains a milky character and has developed a nutty flavour and characteristic tangy finish.
Wine
The theme for today was Spanish, which is just about my go-to style of cooking these days. Nick Reynolds was wearing two hats today, taking on the cooking role as well as his normal duties as Wine Master. The pass-arounds and main were delicious, well done Nick. For more details see Food Report.
For starters, we enjoyed an Albarino, a white from Spain 13%, 2022. An excellent choice, fresh with prominent fruit flavours of pear and citrus, but quite dry, with a firm crisp acidic finish. The wine was perfect for the pass-arounds. I think we should congratulate our Wine Master for introducing us to this style of wine from Europe, which along with the Soave we had a few weeks ago makes a rewarding alternative to our usual entrée wines such as Riesling and Semillon. Nothing at all wrong with these, but a change is enjoyable as well as being an insight into wine styles we are not familiar with. I was assisting with the wine pours and this wine received uniform praise. More, please.
The lunch wines were a collection of four good quality Spanish reds of various vintages ranging from 2010 to 2022. First was the La Vendimia 2021 14%. A blend of Garnacha and Tempranillo, spicy, medium body, tannic and acidic overtones, a lightish wine style built for immediate consumption, a happy wine, just the drink to go with a big plate of garlic prawns. Nice clean flavours, very drinkable.
The second wine was the Joven Mencia from the producer Guimaro 2022 12.5%. Sadly, a bottle of this wine did not find its way to our table, so I am unable to comment further.
Wine no 3 was the Marco Abella Priorat Loidana 2013 14.5%. A very impressive wine in my view. A blend of Garnacha and Carigan drinking beautifully. Very well rounded fruit flavours of black cherry and leather. Strong robust colour of deep red. Some gentle tannin and acid carried it through to an appealing finish. A very rewarding drink.
Wine 4 was the 2010 Torres Salmos 14.5%. This was by any yardstick, a big wine. Deeply coloured red/blackish, with an alluring aroma. The bottle had one of the longest labels I have ever seen, running nearly the length of the bottle, written in both Spanish and English in fine print. Despite all this information the label failed to tell anyone what the wine was made from! This seems to be a habit of European winemakers who seem loathe to share the composition of their product. Not to be deterred, I consulted Dr Google and found that the wine was a blend of Grenache, Shiraz and Carignan. I really enjoyed this wine with its sweetish chewy dark berry flavours. Well balanced combination of tannin and oak produced a strong, powerful finish that lingered. For a wine that is now 14 yo, it showed no sign of ageing, although it was clearly a wine with plenty of bottle age. A great choice.
I noticed that some tables shared a bottle of Ch Rochemorin 2014 from Bordeaux, however, I did not taste the wine, so there is no news on that front.
16 July 2024 Rob Guthrie
Food review by Mark Bradford and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
Banging the pans today was first-time Chef of the Day Rob Guthrie, with Paul Mitchell doing the canapes. A very cold winter’s day but ideal for Rob’s rack of lamb. As is usual for this time of year, numbers were down a little because of northern hemisphere travel and a few local cases of flu.
Canapes
Paul gave us three canapes today. We started off with pea and mint fritters topped with crème fraiche and chilli jam. Good colours and taste, these fritters were served at room temperature.
Next up were parmesan cheese and paprika pastry tartlets filled with red pepper, tomato paste, harissa, cheddar cheese, double cream and chives, topped with sliced cherry tomatoes. Again, lots of colour and flavour and they were served warmed.
Paul’s final offering was somewhat unusual. Inspired by his wife Louise, these were haloumi, mint and pistachio nut baklavas, drizzled with honey syrup.
Well done Paul with much effort being put into preparing these vegetarian starters to get the lunch underway.
Main
The main course was a crusted lamb rack, inspired by the late Bill Grainger. The crust was made from oven toasted sourdough bread broken into crumbs and mixed with Italian parsley, garlic, olive oil and lots of lemon zest and seasoning.
The lamb which had been French trimmed was prepared by searing the fat side, then coating with Dijon mustard and pressing the crumbs in. It was cooked on high heat to crust and crunch the crumbs and allow the lamb to come to the table pink. It was served with cherry tomatoes on the vine that were roasted in olive oil with garlic pieces.
The jus was made from roasted veal bones and vegetables reduced over 18 hours then strained to form the demi-glace. This is later combined with chicken stock and further reduced then seasoned.
The side dish of French beans and mangetout is an Ottolenghi recipe, the beans and mangetout were blanched, dried then combined with roasted hazelnuts, orange zest, chives and flaky sea salt. The dressing was a mixture of hazelnut oil, olive oil and orange juice. It was served at or close to room temperature.
The mash was made by running cooked potatoes through a potato ricer, then blending with butter and sour cream.
All was accompanied by wholemeal sour dough from the Organic Bread Bar in Surry Hills.
Comments from the floor were absolutely full of praise for an excellent high-quality meal that required a large and lengthy effort in its preparation and presentation. Well done Rob.
Cheese
The Society Cheesemaster presented an Aphrodite barrel-aged feta, selected by Will Studd. This is an authentic hand-made Greek feta, well-known to the Society, made with sheep and goat milk, that is carefully ripened in small, old beech wood barrels using traditional techniques that date back to the time when nomadic shepherds roamed the hills of northern Greece.
The barrels enable small amounts of oxygen to reach the salted curds as they ferment under whey, and the natural flora in the wooden staves helps to encourage a unique yeasty aroma. Each barrel is filled with curds by hand and after the cheese has been removed, it must be broken down stave by stave, washed and rebuilt by a skilled cooper. After three months maturation in the barrel, the feta develops a soft milky texture and a seriously creamy peppery finish that is well suited to lamb dishes.
Wine
A smallish group (25?) gathered to sample the Board of Fare prepared by our most recent new Chef Rob Guthrie, ably assisted by his Sous Chef Paul Mitchell. I think it is fair to say that we all went away with very favourable opinions about this team’s abilities with the pans. Some enjoyable pass arounds, followed by perfectly cooked lamb racks arriving on the table in ideal condition. Delicious. See the food report for more details. With regard to the wines, our Cellarmaster was conducting another clear out and as a result, there were only a few bottles of the same wine drunk by everybody. My report is accordingly briefer than usual. The aperitif wines were two sparkling wines, a Champagne from Jacquart NV and a Seppelt Salinger Sparkling 2010 12.5%. As a matter of interest and pride in one of our members, the Salinger was in fact made by our own resident winemaker Chilly Hargraves! Both wines were enjoyable drinking, and trying to be as objective as one could be, I found the Salinger to be a much superior glass of bubbles. More flavour, persistent beads of tiny bubbles lasting right to the end, of a delightful crisp acid finish. Congratulations Chilly, a fine wine, drinking incredibly freshly for a 14 yo. Sadly, these bottles were the last in our cellar.
Moving onto the lunch wines we all consumed the first which was a Wynns Coonawarra Cabernet 2013 14%. Those members who read my report of last week will be in no doubt about my views on this Australian classic. Ever reliable, it never fails to impress. This particular bottle had that predictable huge berry fruit blackcurrant initial flavour, followed thru by firm tannins and a sweet oak finish with pleasing acidity. Now 11 yo the wine is just about hitting its straps in terms of maximum maturity. A sheer delight.
The second wine we all shared was the Orlando St Hugo Coonawarra Cab 2006. I'm not quite sure what went wrong here, but the wine seemed flat and disappointing. By no means undrinkable, but just not up to the usual standard of this renowned label. Perhaps getting a little tired as an 18 yo, with acid falling away leading to a flabby aftertaste. Sad really, I was hoping for something better from this usually fine producer.
That is all members, as from here on we were all drinking different wines.
9 July 2024 Amoush from REX team
Food review by Mark Bradford and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
Today’s lunch was presented by Amoush from the REX. Amoush is known for his Nepalese expertise, but a twist in theme this time around. Agreed by all, the result was sensational.
Canapes
We started off with vegetable skewers. They contained paneer cheese, usually made by curdling milk with lemon juice or vinegar, and mushroom shitake. Then hibachi grilled whilst continuously brushed with cumin, coriander powder, mustard, linseed powder, chilli powder and S&P to taste. These offerings were best described as flavour bombs, they blew the members away with their quality of taste.
Amoush then served up a chicken spring roll. It contained chicken thigh marinated in tandoori paste, yogurt, lemon juice and S&P, roasted in the oven. The mix consisted of shredded tandoori chicken, mozzarella cheese, capers and chopped pickle gherkins, all inside spring roll pastry and deep fried.
The second canape was a wonderful counterfoil to the first, much heavier and clearly well-conceived by a top chef. The canapes were also matched well with the starter wines on offer.
Main
Our main meal was a fusion of West and east – a porchetta of pork belly and Asian spices. The pork was stuffed with chopped ginger, garlic paste, roasted tomato, onion, spring onion, Nepalese spices (salt, Szechwan pepper, fenugreek seeds, turmeric, cumin, coriander, asafoetida, and chilli flakes) and then rolled. The pork had a sauce of a curry base (including tomato, ginger and garlic) cooked with pork stock, reduced to a desired consistency, then strained to make a smooth jus.
Amoush served this with a separate chat potato side. The potatoes were roasted in vegetable oil, S&P, and when the desired colour and crispness was reached, mixed with ginger, garlic, toasted Sichuan pepper, cumin, coriander powder, chat masala, chopped coriander and spring onion.
Cheese
The Society Cheesemaster had a well-earned week off. Head Chef Rob Doll served a Manchego; in theme, as the la Mancha region of central Spain is known for pork dishes, often with Manchego stuffing. Accompanied by a wonderful salad.
To this scribe, one of our best meals on offer today.
Wine
I think today was one of those occasions when you just hunker down, draw the wagons together, light a fire and just hope for better days when spring arrives. With a very small turnout,( maybe 30?) and some very unexciting wines, it could have been a very dull affair, but into each life, a little rain must fall, to make us appreciate the better days. The day was however saved by the superb roast pork loin served by Amoush. Read more in the food review.
About the wines, we had a bit of a cellar clear out, nothing wrong with that, so we had an array of wines on which I will only comment on the ones I tasted. The first was a German Riesling we had a few weeks ago (12 June) a Gunderloch from the Rhinehessen 2021 11.5%, a fine Riesling with, great balance between fruit and acid. Dryish with a lovely crisp finish, perhaps one of the better Rieslings going around. The second wine I happened upon was the Hugel 2019 Gewurtztraminer 14.5%. This wine on its own would be regarded as a little too cloying and sweet for the Australian palate, but a well made wine. However drunk on the heels of the Riesling, the residual sugar was too much to be ignored for an aperitif wine.
Moving onto the lunch wines we started off with a Brian Croser Tapanappa Piccadilly Valley Chardonnay 2021 14%. In my experience over many years, Croser has always made a distinctive style of Chardy, tight, restrained and disciplined, some times It seemed to me that flavour was a secondary consideration. His Petaluma range of wines both Chardy and Cabernet were however much sought after. A corporate restructure was carried out in the early 2000s with Croser establishing the Tapanappa label in 2002 with fruit grown in the Piccadilly Valley of South Australia. The wine today a 2021 Chardy was to me a letdown. I accept that being critical of a Croser wine is akin to heresy, being arguably our greatest winemaker in the last 30 years, but from my perspective, this wine had little to offer. Unyielding, mean and tight with little fruit flavours, no real joy. Some at my table said the wine improved when mixed with the flavours of the pork main, which were delicious, however for me, the wine never recovered from that frosty initial first meeting.
The second lunch wine was a Vinden Estate Basket Press Shiraz from the Hunter 2010, 13.5%. By no means objectionable, just a little tired. Probably hiding in our cellar for 6 or 7 years beyond its best drinking date, the wine had lost acid and had become flat and flabby. No real joy there, sad really to see a good wine left in the cellar too long. Our Winemaster is on the right track in conducting regular cellar clearouts to reduce the frequency of failures such as the poor old Vinden Estate did today.
The third wine was a terrific Fraser Gallop Parterre Chardonnay 2014 from the Margaret River region 12.5%. To my taste, this wine ran rings around the Tapanappa. Right from the first sip, the wine was warm and generous with mouth-filling flavours of mixed stone fruits. Great balance leads to a rewarding clean finish. A great partner for the pork main. A lovely wine.
The final wine for the day was the ever-reliable Wynns Black Label Coonawarra Cabernet 2009, 14%. Here’s to Sue Hodder and her team at Wynns for producing year after year a consistently high-quality Cabernet. I can always remember having my first glass of this wine, a 1965 vintage, drunk at the Burning Log Restaurant near Dural in the very early 70s. I can still recall the powerful berry fruit flavours which have remained with me ever since. 50 years + have gone by, but the initial impact remains clear in my mind. The Wynns Cabernet has become a Society favourite, with good reason. Great value always, I am sure I have never had a poor bottle of this wine. Today’s wine now 15 yo showed full maturity, wonderfully integrated oak and tannin with that unmistakable Wynns flavour of mature Cabernet, powerful and lingering. Drinking at its peak now, but with all the required structures to go on for at least another 5 years.
2 July 2024 Steve Sparkes
Food review by James Hill
Food
Steve Sparkes was in the kitchen today cooking an American-themed lunch based on the food of San Francisco.
Steve was assisted by our Cellarmaster Nick Reynolds.
Canapés
Nick prepared the canapés today. First up, smoked ocean trout on a bagel with cream cheese, onion and capers.
Then followed sliders or burgers based on the famous Shake Shack burger. If you have ever been to the States this is the go-to place. Very authentic. Nick used Martin’s potato rolls, fried the inside and then melted some Kraft cheese over not a quarter pounder but an eighth of a pounder and topped it with lettuce and tomato. The sauce was made with mayonnaise, ketchup, yellow mustard, dill pickle, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper mayonnaise, ketchup and American mustard.
Who doesn’t love a burger?
We all did, the burgers were perfect and moreish as were the bagels.
Professor Mark Bradford told us the story of the name hamburger originated. It was the diaspora of the Germans in the late 18th century who used to walk around eating steak and bread. Most of them were from Hamburg therefore they became known as hamburgers.
Main
Steve presented a meal that he had when he was first in San Francisco, it’s known as Cioppino and is considered the signature dish of San Francisco, a seafood stew. The ingredients today were cuttlefish, gemfish, prawns, pippies and mussels. The sauce was made with tomatoes, onion, capsicum, celery, leeks and chilli adding herbs oregano and basil.
Loved the flavours and the seafood was perfectly cooked.
Steve says this is normally served in a loaf of sourdough however somewhat difficult to replicate at our lunch so he purchased provided sourdough from Baker Bleu in Double Bay to go with the Cioppino.
We had the sourdough country roll with the stew perfect for ‘scarpetta’ as the Italians say. This is the indescribable pleasure of sopping up the sauce.
There were some comments on the warmth of the broth. Steve advising it was it was boiling when it was plated and obviously lost a little bit of temperature between the kitchen and the dining room not so much as to the detriment of the flavour.
Loved the seafood dish today, plenty to go around. No one went home hungry another great meal from our team today.
Thanks Nick and Steve.
Cheese
Our Cheesmaster, in theme, presented a cow’s milk cheese from Vermont USA.
It came to the table at a perfect temperature, moist and creamy with a pleasant sweetness.
This clothbound cheese is the result of an unusual collaboration and is now recognized as one of the finest traditional cheddars produced in the USA.
Cabot Dairy Cooperative make the cheese with milk from a single herd of Holstein cows and their own unique starter cultures at their huge facility in Vermont. The wheels are then transported to Mateo and Andy Kehler’s picturesque farmhouse dairy at Jasper Hill for expert aging. After being carefully bound in cheesecloth and smeared with lard, the 16kg wheels are matured for at least 12 months in the underground caves carved out of the green hillside.
The result is crystalline-flecked, moist and crumbly cheddar with a sweet, tangy caramel flavour.
Steve served this with dried apricots and candied pecan nuts.
The crunchy and crusty baguette from Baker Bleu was the perfect bread to go with the cheese.
25 June 2024 Paul Ferman
Food review by Mark Bradford and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
A cool winter’s day saw Paul Ferman prepare lunch for a nearly full house. Mr Ferman is known for his use of quality and organic produce, with Feather and Bone being Paul’s go to providore.
Canapes:
Paul started us off with a very tasty vegetable soup. An excellent pancetta stick was produced as well as a good moist vegetable terrine.
Great flavours in all canapes and a good match for the starter wines.
Main:
Paul served a fine Cassoulet. It contained lots of well-cooked beans, an excellent Toulouse sausage, great confit duck, the meal having lot of texture and well-balanced rich flavours. The large effort to produce the meal for a full house was appreciated and a good match for the wines.
Cheese:
In theme, the Cheesemaster served Onetik Ossau Iraty, a Basque French cheese and a Society favourite. This is a hard artisan sheep milk cheese. Basque cheese making traditions date back at least 4000 years. Onetik is the largest dairy cooperative in the French Basque region collecting milk from 250 dairies across the Ossau Valley and Iraty Forest. Only milk from the local breeds of sheep - Manech and Basco- Bearnaise and traditional techniques can be used under PDO conditions. An uncooked, pressed curd cheese, the rind is washed, and hand salted during six months maturation which encourages a hard crusty rind. It develops a succulent firm texture and complex flavour, developing notes of hazelnut and a slightly sweet finish.
Wine
For our wine lunch yesterday, we were treated to an excellent cassoulet from Paul Ferman together with some delicious wines from the Rhone district, finishing with a terrific cheese. Great food and wine, all for $95. The WFS is for sure the place to be at!
A full room of members arrived promptly, if not a little early, to enjoy the aperitifs so much so that when I arrived bang on 12.30 pm, the first apéritif wine had gone! Apparently, I did not miss much as I was told it was oxidised and not worth drinking. Hence, I cannot report on this little number, the Haut Coustias Blanc 2016. Pity, as I enjoy poking fun at a poor bottle, which does not happen often. We were then provided with a mix of enjoyable white wines, a Toolangi and a Tyrrells and perhaps something else, which passed muster.
We then were presented with 6 red wines from both Northern and Southern Rhone, 4 from the North and 2 from the South. At the outset, just let me say that reviewing wines that are very similar is quite hard work, unlike 6 different wines which is quite easy. We had 5 wines from the well-known producer Guigal, and one from another producer. During comments on the wines, it was mentioned that Guigal wines follow a distinctive wine style, much similar to our Penfolds. I agree strongly with that view. Hence, I found little difference in the first 4 wines from Northern Rhone, all Syrah which were:
No 1. Yves Cuilleron 2012. 12.5%. Massive deep colour, spicy, complex array of dark fruit flavours, powerful finish, a very good wine.
No 2. the Guigal Cote Rotie Brune et Blonde 2012 13%. A plummy, again spicy taste, much lighter in texture and colour than the preceding wine. Possibly a little over-oaked, but finishing with clean strong flavours. Most enjoyable.
No 3. The Guigal 2009 edition of the same wine. 13.5%. Again, a lighter style, very elegant, finishing with a firm dry, almost puckery tannic aftertaste. Some oak influence was evident.
No 4. A Guigal 2010 St Joseph 13.5%. Another dense Syrah, big fruit flavours with a delicate mix of tannin and oak. A strongly flavoured wine, but well balanced. An enjoyable wine.
Wines 5 and 6 were from the Southern Rhone district, around the township of Avignon. They were both Chateauneuf Du Pape wines, made from mainly Grenache, with a host of other wine varieties going into the mix, in small quantities. Wine experts rate the wine as the best example of Grenache grown in France. This wine is one of the most revered wines of France, tracing its origins to the 14th Century when Pope Clement V transferred the Papal Court from Rome to Avignon. The wine takes its name from that change of address, meaning in English “the Pope's new castle“ and not the Pope’s 9th Home, as sometimes suggested. In any event, both wines were worthy of a Papal Blessing.
Wine 5 was from Guigal 2005 13.5%, by popular acclaim the wine of the day, with good reason. Smooth and svelte, redolent with sweetish, complex dark Grenache fruit aromas, rich but not cloying. A faint of tannin on the last delicious sip. A really classy wine.
Wine 6 was my favourite, due mainly to its magnificent chewy, stewed fruit finish. Wine 5 was by far a better all-rounder for a meal, but No 6 with the Ossau Iraty cheese was a finish to the day that only His Holiness could bestow on us humble supplicants. To me, an awesome wine, drinking superbly at 25 YO. Just wish I had some!
I will not be there next week, attending a school Grandparents Day for my two youngest grandchildren. Look forward to catching up on the 9th.