29 March 2022 CoTD Greg Sproule

22 March 2022 CoTD James Hill

Food comments: Nick Reynolds. Wine comments: Phil Laffer

Tuesday marked the fourth Chef of the Year Cook-Off, this time with James Hill taking us on a foodie tour of Greece.

James was ably assisted by James Tinslay, who did a riff on his extremely popular sausage rolls and our Foodmaster, Bill Alexiou-Hucker, who provided home-made white Taramasalata for the main course.

James served two appetisers. The first was tuna blended with mascarpone, capers, dill, chives and lemon zest presented on a witlof leaf which gave a bitter, crunchy counterpoint to the dip. The second was hummus bi tahini, served simply in a plain tart shell. James commented that he made this with Australian organic chickpeas, which are globally highly regarded.

As a self-proclaimed foundation member of the Sausage Roll and Wine Society of NSW (SR&WS of NSW), James Tinslay adapted his popular sausage rolls to fit in with the Greek theme. Lamb-based, they were augmented by Spinach, Feta, Onion, Red Capsicum, Greek herbs and garlic, lemon juice and zest and that old Greek standby, Panko breadcrumbs. Served with a Tomato Chutney augmented with Kashmiri Chili (apparently from an extra island in the Dodecanese). The rolls were both delicious and filling. Several members ate large numbers of these, thinking that they were the main course. The appetisers were served with 2014 Tyrrell’s Belford Semillon which was an elegant wine with intense fruit that was drinking well at this age.

The main was a reprise of the visually stunning and much-praised Eggplant and Scallop dish that James cooked last year. The dish is a variant on a seafood moussaka originally created by Peter Conistis, Sydney’s Father of modern Greek Food. A fried eggplant slice was lavishly covered with White Taramasalata, topped with three perfectly cooked Canadian scallops, followed by strips of roasted red capsicum, another slice of eggplant, and finally topped with a rich tomato salsa. The presentation was enhanced by generous servings of salmon roe and avruga caviar. A feast for the eyes, the flavour combination was exceptional. Some felt that the eggplant skin was a touch tough compared to when James has cooked the dish before. Chilly Hargrave had an each-way bet by matching both a white and a red wine with the dish. The white, which many felt was the ideal match with the food, was a 2015 Curly Flat Macedon Range Chardonnay. A more traditional Australian Chardonnay, it was well oaked with well balanced peach-melon fruit. The weight of the wine matched that of the food extremely well. The red was a 2014 Christian Clerget Bourgogne Rouge which was both elegant and attractive with good cherry fruit and soft tannins. Many considered this to be the wine of the day.

Our Cheesemaster James Healey presented a Le Marquis Brie made from milk from a small herd of pampered Fresian cows. Made in a modern, purpose-built Fermier in the Ile de France the cheese came to the table in excellent condition accompanied by sliced William Bartlett pears and Italian whole-wheat crackers. Two 2012 Barossa Shiraz wines were served with the cheese. The pick of the two Shiraz was a Saltram Mamre Brook which was a big sweet, fruity wine with plum, black pepper, and good length. The second was a Gibson Dirtman, which conversely was somewhat tired, dry and astringent. Phil Laffer commented that Matt Holmes, who was distributing the wines on the day, served the reds direct from the wine fridge at 15C, which was a perfect temperature for these big wines from the Barossa.

The lunch was also an opportunity to welcome three new members: George Peters, Brian Dunn, and Paul Touma. They certainly picked a great lunch with which to start their Wine and Food Society journey.

15 March 2022 Nick Reynolds

Food review by Robert Wiggins

Please Sir, there is something fishy about my sausage!

Hmm, when reading about what the upcoming meal was going to be, orchestrated by Nick, having not had one of his seafood sausages before I have to admit that I was somewhat dubious, not really having a great love for the usual mystery bags.

However, as it was Nick and in the past, his cooking has always been excellent, plus ably assisted by Steve Sparkes, who was I not to try something new?

This meal was one of the biggest surprises that I have had in the Society.  It was definitely a case after the meal was tasted and consumed with the vigour that it went to “Please Sir can I have some more!”

Not trying to influence any outcomes, but personally, I hope that Nick wins the chef of the year in this round of cook-offs, as he will then need to recreate this meal and all of us (those who book early), will get to have it again.

This just demonstrates that the quality and diversity of what our members are now serving up to us is of restaurant quality, if not much better.

It is also now an interesting quandary that we find ourselves in.  Irrespective of the official numbers on inflation, most of us know that there has actually been massive inflation on the goods and services that most of the members utilise and consume.  (This is because the official figures are heavily weighted towards goods and services consumed by younger demographics… new cars, fitting out a home etc).  Therefore, as the average costs of ingredients rise for these superb lunches now being produced by our members, we may shortly need to choose between either having the same quality of food at an increased luncheon cost or degrade the quality of what we are serving.

Back to the seafood extravaganza.

Canapes

The buckwheat blinis with smoked salmon, horseradish cream, cheese and chives were the first creation served.  Unfortunately, Nick had accurately counted how many entrees would go around in each swirl of the floor.  There were many disappointed looks when the second round of these blinis made their way around to each of us without any leftovers.

Steve Sparkes produced his tart with smoked trout pate and pineapple salsa. The pineapple added an extremely interesting flavour, more like a lime mint.  It was exceptionally refreshing and a true palate cleanser.

The wines will be completed by another author, however;

The Entrée wine was a 2015 Tapanappa Eden Valley Riesling.  It went well with the seafood entrees.

Wine For the mains, given the seafood theme, we also had a couple of whites;

The 2018 Pierre-Yves Colin Bourgogne Aligote and the 2017 Collector Tumbarumba Tiger Tiger Chardonnay.  There was much debate on which went better with the food and it seemed to vary as the meal went on.

Main:

Now, this was a surprise when it came to the plate with a fully erect, firm, Mooloolaba jumbo prawn teasing and tempting the diner. Resting under it was a homemade fish sausage, made from hand diced salmon and ocean trout, smoked trout, egg white, cream, and pork back fat.  Served on tarragon beurre Blanc sauce.  In addition, was a mango salsa, Canadian scallop, butter glazed snow peas, and deep-fried forty-layer potato pavé with creme fraiche and Beluga caviar. Now that is an artisan’s work.

It was absolutely delicious and my money is on this dish to take away that crazy crustation trophy.  If Nick does win this, it means he will have to replicate this meal and if this does occur and you missed this one, you would be disappointed to miss his repeat performance.

Cheese Wines

The cheese wines were both 2015 Crozes-Hermitage Syrahs; one from Alain Graillot and the other from his son Maxime Graillot, whose wines come from a single vineyard near the village of Beaumont-Monteux, only a couple of kilometres from his father's vines (Alain)

To go with the French wines, it required a French Compte

Now, this was a great cheese served with baby salad leaves and nashi pear.

Cheese Characteristics

Comte is made from unpasteurised milk, its quality and flavour characteristics vary between producers, and most examples are sold simply on the basis of age. This is no guarantee of quality. Every batch is different and influenced by when the cheese was made, and where and how it was ripened. 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 a lingering kaleidoscope of flavours rather than on how long it was aged

This was around 16-18 months old.

Peter Kelso was having another birthday and he was kind enough to bring along a couple of bottles of the Cockburn’s Quinta Dos Canais Port, which went down very well with the cheese.

The coffee was the house blend and next week we look forward to what the ever-reliable, wearer of many hats, James Hill will serve up to us.

8 March 2022 CoTD Steve Sparkes

Food review by  Robert Wiggins

Happy Days Revisited BY Steve Sparkes

As per directions for this cook-off, the meal served was a close replica of the lunch served in early November of 2021.

This report does not discuss the wines; one of the Masters will fulfil this task.

The underlying theme of the meal was ’Australiana’ aimed at highlighting just how lucky we are to live in this country through some ‘old-fashioned’ dishes presented in a more modern style.

Steve Sparkles was again weaving his magic in the kitchen cooking up a nostalgic culinary storm, straight out of the 1970s

Also, the weather played its part on the day, being cold, wet and miserable… just the ticket for some hot comfort food.

Who wouldn’t want to partake in the ubiquitous sausage roll, meat pie or prawn cocktail, with a bit of Sam Kekovich the Australian 'Lambassador' being channelled by Steve with his lamb beautifully served on the plate.

You could almost smell a bit of Teen Spirit in the room when the nostalgia kicked in when the entrees made their rounds. It temporarily took us back to our youthful days, but thankfully it didn’t last for very long (Teen Spirit smelt like a stolen dab of your father's Old Spice and the dregs of a can of Lynx deodorant you'd got last Christmas from your granny. It smelt like flat Bulmers, swigged from a flagon down the local park on a Friday night, along with the stale reek of Benson & Hedges.) For those of you who can’t remember this, it’s probably the dementia kicking, so just relax and don’t worry.

It was certainly a trip down memory lane, with the main complaint being that there was too much food!!!  Judging by the girth and mirth of many of the members this was certainly a bit of a one-off grizzle.  However, it did raise a very good point and one that needs to be discussed and addressed.

The reason for the excess food was the large number of members who had booked and then did not turn up or cancelled at the last minute.  There was a whole saddle of lamb left over, plus a kilo of cheese, an excess of pies and sausage rolls as these had all been budgeted for by the chef.  This occurs occasionally and begs the question for Society members; should late cancellations receive a refund?  In many walks of life, the answer would be a straight no.  Today’s lunch resulted in a much higher average cost per person, which of course then affects the finances of the entire Society. There is no perfect answer, but this should be raised, addressed and debated upon by the members, probably over a few drinks at lunch.

The Society has moved from a time where members would just roll up on the day, with the chefs having no idea how many people they were catering for resulting in either a feast or famine on the day, quite often with disappointing results.  However, in those days past, the focus on what was served was certainly nowhere near the standard of today.  Some members have recanted meals that included; wombats, roadkill, not sure if the old brush turkey or goanna were served, but it wouldn’t surprise. The entrées were quite often a bit of cheese on a Jatz cracker.  Thankfully those days are long behind us.

The Society has been continually moving along with the times and at various junctures in time it is important to reflect on where we came from and where we are moving to.  This is yet another one of the decisions that we need to make going forward.

Canapes:

The three canapes presented were rapidly consumed:  These were:

A prawn cocktail on a biscuit.

Simply a rice cracker was topped with avocado mousse, gem lettuce, tiger prawn and a homemade Rose Marie sauce.  Easy to eat, lots of work to make it.

The good old sausage rolls

Based on a Bourke Street Bakery recipe using pork mince, dried fennel, finely diced veg, a few spices, it was served with spicy homemade tomato chutney.  This one had a bit of heat in it, which took some members by surprise as it was piping hot when served and a hot surprise on the way down

Another great innovation today was having the server also dish out the sauce for the rolls by a spoon.. so much more effective, faster, without the usual mess or double-dipping.  Again.. see how far we have come!

Then what is a party without the Party Pies?

These consisted of using shortcrust pastry shells with a filling of diced beef chuck and beef mince in a curry sauce topped with puff pastry. Served with a homemade tomato sauce.

There was certainly more than enough to go around

They were served with a perfect compliment of a fresh 2014 Brokenwood Semillon from the Hunter.

It also seemed to be the day for pink shirts.. so it really was a throwback, with Terry, John and Chilly all resplendent in their night fever attire.

For the main course;

The mains consisted of a saddle of Sutton Forest lamb. The saddle is the absolute prime cut of lamb consisting of both fillets, both backstraps with the bones removed but with the fat and skin intact.

Each piece (approx. 1.3kg) was flattened out, painted with some Dijon mustard and then a ‘rub’ of bush tomato, wattle seed, lemon myrtle and dried rosemary was added and the piece rolled tightly and tied and left to dry for about 24 hours in the fridge.

Garnishes consisted of a potato fondant, creamed corn and pickled mushrooms with an intense gravy.

The lamb was rubbed with salt and olive oil and baked in a hot oven and then rested until medium-rare.

It was very interesting with the jus and the saltiness of the sauce.  Steve did not add any salt to the mixture, however, the intense reductions, resulted in a reasonably salty flavour. It was a good lesson in tasting the food before automatically adding salt.

Now given that it was a lamb dish, the lunch wine needed to be a cab sav.

These were a 2012 Mildara from Coonawarra and a 2009 Blue Pyrenees

The Cheese wines were a 2012 Bests Great Western Bin 1 Shiraz and a 2012 Bishops Shiraz.

A real treat for those who like their big wines.

For those wanting more Lambtations;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ck8CO6zGFB0

The lamb was sourced from:

https://suttonforestmeatandwine.com.au/

(Many people have asked!!)

The coffee was the house special and the cheese a real delight; thanks James;

The cheese following on theme was of course a sheep's milk Yarrawa semi-hard, from the Southern Highlands Pecora Dairy at Robertson in 2kg wheels.

Yarrawa’s flavour reflects the local soil, pasture and season with micro-flora encouraged to grow within the cheese and upon its natural rind.

More information and Product Description of the Yarrawa;

Michael and Cressida Cains founded Pecora Dairy in 2011 on 200 acres in Robertson, located in the green heart of the Southern Highlands, 100 miles south of Sydney. Their overarching philosophy is one of gentleness: towards the land, their sheep and in the production of their award-winning cheeses.

Robertson lies 743m above sea level and as such enjoys generous rainfall most months of the year, producing lush pasture for their East Friesian sheep. July brings the arrival of lambs who stay close to their mothers for warmth and milk. When they begin to graze in early Spring, no longer in need of their mother’s milk, seasonal cheese production gradually increases.

Yarrawa is Australia’s first raw milk cheese. The absence of heat application during the cheese-making process ensures the bright, natural flavours of the milk are allowed to shine through.  A special blend of cultures is added to the milk and the resulting curds are carefully hooped. The freshly formed wheels are placed in a traditional French cheese press to remove excess moisture over 6 hours.

After hand-salting, the cheese is placed onto Silver Top Mountain Ash timbers, milled on the farm, for maturation. Microflora is encouraged to grow within the cheese and on its natural rind over a minimum of three months in specially designed maturation rooms that are continually replenished with fresh mountain air. When ready, each wheel has the Yarrawa name seared into its rind with a hot branding iron.

Named after the indigenous word for Robertson’s unique cool climate rainforest, Yarrawa has a supple paste with hints of butter, cashews, caramel and grass and excels alongside Riojas and Tempranillo wines and when served with quince paste or cherry jam.

Pecora Dairy’s Yarrawa is Australia’s first non-cooked raw milk cheese, available seasonally.
After lunch, many members remained in the club, with a great spirit of comradery.

We look forward to Nick’s seafood creation next week… it is sure to be both interesting and tasty.

1 March 2022 CoTD Keith Steele

Food review by James Hill (with an addition re his birthday Armagnac)

It was a welcome return to the kitchen today for Keith Steele ably assisted by James Tinslay and Paul Ferman on canapés.

Still dark, wet and damp it didn’t deter our faithful members with maximum bookings and the mood at lunch was light with members' comments verging on stand up comedy.

Canapés

Canapés were plentiful today and the quantity was favourably welcomed by members when commenting about the lunch.

First up Keith sent out curried egg on pappadum. The weather softened the papadums somewhat however this meant it was easier to eat rather than crumbling. Very tasty.

Paul was up next with two canapés served on gluten-free bread with some horseradish cream while the bread was a vehicle for the canapés it was a little too thick making it chewy and we lost a bit of the unique flavour of the topping.

The topping was made by the famous Fish Butchery “pepperberry cured Ora King salmon” (Ora is the NZ salmon) and Spencer Gulf Kingfish mortadella.

Both had great flavour with the mortadella made in the traditional way with olives and the unusual addition of milt (Google it).

James Tinslay sent out his signature dish, sausage rolls, this time a variation today with a Moroccan theme. The meat was home ground beef mince 70% and 30% chicken mince.

The combined mince included panko, garlic, ginger, onion, carrot, pine nuts, cinnamon, paprika and coriander. The usual suspects.

They were topped with seeds: black mustard, sesame and cumin. Again very popular with our members. James's homemade sauce went perfectly with the rolls. A rather expensive sauce James left it at home and he had to organise a special delivery.

Main Course

Keith reprised a dish he’d last cooked at Lower Fort street “Syrian Chicken”. Lots of flavours made with ginger, onions, garlic, saffron and tomatoes plus some black currants to add a little sweetness with some residual heat from the chilli. It was served on a bed of couscous with some snow peas.

A good hearty meal with texture, good flavours from the balanced spice mix. Keith cooked the dish with a skinless thigh and comments thought using ‘skin on’ may have added a little more moisture.

Cheese

Keith is always willing to guess the cheese and the percentages are in his favour. Today he requested a blue cheese but unfortunately, his choice was not available however we enjoyed the substitute.

It was a Saint Agur an artisan blue cow’s milk cheese from Valey France.

Made from cow's milk with added cream, this modern cheese was developed from an old monastery recipe as a creamy cow's milk alternative to Roquefort. The flavour of this popular cheese has been developed using a special selection of ‘designer’ blue moulds which are cultured on rye bread and crammed into the curds just before hooping. After three months of maturation, the cheese develops a rich creamy texture and distinctive blue flavour.

It was served with walnuts and dried apricots.

We finished the afternoon with a 1989 Bas Armagnac courtesy of James Hill for his birthday.

22 February 2022 CoTD Rob Doll

Food review by Steve Liebeskind

Today was a wine tasting lunch and while the wines were the focus of the day, the Chef of the Royal Exchange excelled with food worthy of the quality of wines presented.

Canapes

Stracciatella and heirloom tomato tart 

Stracciatella is an Italian cheese curd (cow) made from pulled mozzarella curds mixed with heavy cream. This cheese was served in a puff pastry tart and topped with chopped heirloom tomato. To finish a deep-fried curry leaf topped the tart for colour, flavour and decoration. This canape was delicious and for so many reasons.

Duck fat potato, veal tartare and caviar

Who doesn’t like potatoes cooked with duck fat??? Potatoes were finely cut via a mandolin, layered in a tray with duck fat. Then baked and put into the fridge with a weight on top. The potatoes were cut into cubes and finished by going into the deep fry. Beef tartare was made by the tail from the fillet used in the main. To finish black caviar was placed on top.

Picture perfect one mouthful canape with great flavour from all three ingredients. The presentation and flavour were terrific, although I thought the caviar gave the canape a slightly fish flavour focus.

Parmesan gougères 

This was a savoury cheese puff made from choux pastry. The cheese filling was a parmesan custard (made from parmesan cream and egg yolks gently cooked via a Theromix and when cooled injected into the puffs. This was a light satisfying savoury puff that was easily consumed by all.
 
Main

Beef Wellington, smoked potato mash and cabbage with red wine sauce 

What looks simple on the plate is rarely created with the same simplicity. The Wellington looked perfect and evenly cooked for all serves on the table. The beef colour was great, and the pastry was wonderful. The flavour came from the ingredients in the making of the dish. Accompanying the protein was a beautiful smoked potato mash and a lightly cooked shredded cabbage with a subtle hint of caraway seeds. The meal was topped off with a very smart and classic reduced red wine and port jus.

Beef Wellington – eye beef fillet was seared, tied, refrigerated, and before going on the pastry English mustard was spread over the meat. Crepes were made using various herbs and some mushrooms were placed on puff pastry. The beef was added, rolled and placed in the oven for 20 minutes or so. The variation from traditional Beef Wellingtons was that pate and cooked mushrooms were not in this dish – some missed these two ingredients, but it didn’t distract from an enjoyable dish.

The chef smoked cream fraiche, butter and some milk. Then added this to potatoes and turned into a slightly thicker Paris mash. Finished with sea salt the final product was a very flavoursome accompaniment to the Wellington.

Cabbage was shredded and cooked for 4 to 5 minutes in a pan with some butter and caraway seeds for extra flavour. Simple and very effective.

Cheese

Manchego DOP 12 month 3kg (review from supplier, Calendar Cheese Company)

Manchega sheep are native to the arid but fertile La Mancha Plateau in central Spain. For centuries, shepherds have raised these sheep for their milk and maintained a remarkably pure lineage which, amongst other things, has resulted in milk quality that has changed little in hundreds of years.

Perhaps the best-known product from La Mancha is Manchego cheese; the pressed, matured cheese made exclusively from Manchega milk to strict rules governed by the DOP that protects it. The zig-zag pattern on the rind was traditionally imprinted by a hand-woven grass belt, but today is typically the result of a modern basket used to mould the cheese.

Made famous in the 17th-century novel, Don Quixote, and commonly featured in tapas, Manchego DOP is matured from 30 days to 2 years. As it matures, it develops tiny holes or ‘eyes’ throughout the ivory-coloured paste and flavour that ranges from fruity with a milky finish when young, to a grassy flavour and sharp finish when long-aged.

This cheese is selected by Consorcio de los Quesos and is branded under their Merco label. They select it for its dense texture, buttery aroma and full flavour that has hints of toasted nuts and grass. Aged for a minimum of 9 months and arriving to us at 12 months, each wheel retains a supple texture and milky character that is difficult to find in long-aged Manchego.

15 February 2022 CoTD Peter Kelso

Food review by James Hill

Peter Kelso was in the kitchen today with the first cook-off for our “Chef of the Year” challenge. While numbers were down the quality wasn’t and it was a memorable meal that showed Peter’s ability to produce a lunch that was complex and difficult in execution.

Starters

We started with pinwheels of smoked ocean trout with dill mustard sauce and a dash of cayenne in a roll of compressed light rye bread.

Next served was cucumber and cream soup served cold. Perfect considering the temperature on this hot summer day.

Paul Ferman assisted in the preparation.

Main course

The main came beautifully presented. A Japanese-based meal, sea bream (morwong) which had been glazed with mirin, sake and sugar reduction. It had been briefly seared then oven rested and was served with Japanese dashi and miso broth topped with some shredded spring onion, a sprinkling of crushed toasted nori and a light dusting of togarashi (a Japanese hot pepper mix). Udon noodles were added to the brew before serving. It presented well, was very flavourful and the fish was moist and perfectly cooked.

A great meal and it received very positive comments from members on the day.

Cheese

The cheese presented by Gary Linnane selected by James Healey was a Society favourite, an aged Beaufort, a cows milk cheese from the province of Savoie in the French Alps.

Served with the cheese today we had toasted walnuts, fresh figs and Nashi pears.

8 February 2022 CoTD Steve Liebeskind

Food review by Robert Wiggins and wine review by Richard Gibson

Wethering Heights revisited

Try as he might, Steve was not able to turn back time or source the lamb that he desperately desired, and therefore had to turn or mimic wethers and hogget into baby lambs.

Baby lambs, like 20+ year-old virgins, just don’t seem to exist anymore, except as a cruel catfishing hoax, or possibly for one of them, in a religious establishment... I’ll let you work out which is which.

It was all mutton dressed up as lamb, but extremely well done; as most gentlemen would not have noticed the difference, except on the extra mastication required to devour Steve’s magnificent creation.

This is not a negative comment on Steve, but a sign of the current times, on being able to source anything from computer chips to baby lamb.  What we took for granted pre covid and Xi, have now proven not to last the test of time.

However, back to the real narrative; the meal.

One outstanding aspect of this meal was the colour.  Steve’s servings were all a mixture of very vibrant, vivid colours creating a very pleasant presentation to the eye. They say you eat with your eyes and this was a feast for the peepers.

Canapes

Steve opened the affair with 3 tasty canapes:

• Gravlax on bread rounds topped with dill sauce
• Goats cheese in pastry shells topped with beetroot chutney
• Fennel puree on pastry rounds topped with salmon

The two salmon dishes had one on a biscuit and the other on a small slice of bread.

To the untrained eye, the two of them resembled each other, however, in the final analysis by Steve, he was disappointed that the second salmon tidbit was actually a fennel puree, topped with gravlax.  We are very sorry we didn’t pick that up, as we were too busy downing these tasty little devils, which went very well with both the Burings and KC.

The tart with chopped beetroot floating on a bed of goats cheese gave some wonderful additional colour.

The competition for this year’s Chef of the Year should watch out, as Steve has already started sharpening that massive implement he received as his trophy for his win last year in a highly contested field.

The Mains

Now there was a bit of plate envy around the room, with some punters complaining that their neighbours looked better than theirs. There were even allegations of bits of the meat being repurposed for someone else’s plate. Now, this always happens and is especially noticeable when the meal is so good.

Now the main meal consisted of a couple of pieces of rolled loin of lamb, which had been brined, cold smoked and cooked. Steve had used a gun to cold smoke the lamb and the brine was his version of the fountain of youth, trying to turn back time and wethers into a baby lamb.  It was an admirable feat and worked a treat, other than the extra mastication required to consume the lamb.  It was topped with gremolata and a parsnip puree.  One of the standouts of the dish was Steve’s Caponata, which was a very complementary addition to the lamb. There was debate on our table as to whether there was any heat in the Caponata.  Turns out Steve did throw a few chillies into the mix.

Cheese

Now this one had everyone stumped.  There were many who were determined and certain that it was an Australian goat’s cheese. Turns out the only goat in the room was them.

When James did his big reveal, it took most by surprise, not only due to the French nature (which a few determined, even getting the D’affinois correct, but everyone missed the animal which due to the tone of the meal should have been obvious Sheep’s milk!

It was of course one of the family favourites from BREBIS.

D’ AFFINOIS DE BREBIS FROMAGERIE GUILLOTEAU

It comes in 1kg wheels, is around 6-8 weeks old and according to James, is an extremely well-priced cheese for the quality that is delivered.

This cheese is made by Fromagerie Guilloteau near Pelussin in the Rhone Valley. This cheese utilises ultra-filtration techniques and modern lactic fermentation techniques to boost the protein and calcium levels in the curd. Made with added cream and ripened for three weeks under a thin white mould rind covering the cheese and gradually develops a mild and rich texture that is savoury, building complexity. These modern lactic fermentation techniques boost the protein and calcium levels in the curd.

Salad

The salad consisted of mixed lettuces (including baby spinach and rocket). The salad dressing contained orange juice, honey, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Chilli walnuts were scattered throughout the salad.

Now there were a few members who did not like having a slightly sweet and sour salad.. they wanted it saved for future chicken dishes…they’ll possibly be waiting a long time!

Next week it is the imitable Peter Kelso in the kitchen who will set out to prove that the pan is mightier than the pen. Don’t miss it.  Currently, you cannot visit Japan, so Peter has decided to bring a Nippon flavour to the denizens of the Society.

Dōmo arigatōgozaimasu, sayonara.

Leo Buring Clare Valley Riesling 2014

Nose: The nose of both shows intense zesty citrus (lime/lemon) notes and flinty minerality. 

Plate: The palate displays a depth of citrus fruit (lime) and floral/herbal characters and is clean and dry with some developed toasty/brioche characters with a dry minerally finish.

Penfolds Bin 407 2012

Inspired by the 707, 407 offer similar varietal definition and structure at a lower price; sourced from multi regions; aged 14 mths  in new French oak (22%) and American hogsheads  245L (78%)

Colour:  opaque black colour/ deep dark purple-black hue.

Nose:  blackcurrant and black olive, a hint of violet/liquorice, cedary tobacco and spice.

Palate: Medium to full-bodied the palate has a firm backbone and ample acidity. Flavours of ripe blackcurrant overlay black olives with cedar, tobacco-like characters and spice. Balanced with a long, dry finish;  firm grainy tannins. Very good varietal definition showing concentration and liveliness – but requires time for the tannins to integrate more fully.

Alc 14.5%

Wynns Black Label cabernet 2012

The Black Label Cab Sauvignon has a deserved reputation for producing amazingly consistent varietal and regional characteristics.  The wine is produced only from the top 20-25% of Wynns Coonawarra Cabernet fruit.

Nose: the 2012 displays intense, attractive (developed) ripe dark blackberry fruit and cherry aromas with cassis/spice and chocolate notes. 

Palate: the wine is of medium weight and well balanced with soft ripe fruit with cedar/tobacco notes, fine polished integrated tannins, seamless balance and good length – an elegant seamless wine, aging very gracefully and is likely in the peak drinking window now.

It was considered the best current drinking of the 2 cabernets on the day.

Alc 13.5%

Torbreck – The Struie 2004

The Torbreck is made from fruit grown in the Eden (40 yr old vines) and Barossa (60 yr old vines) valleys.  It was aged for 18 months in seasoned French oak (80%) and new French oak (20%).

Colour;  opaque black/purple fruits

Nose: The wine displayed big, brooding, rich raspberry and plum fruit with choc/ coffee and pepper tones. 

Palate: On the palate - full-bodied,  concentrated, rich, ripe and opulent dark plum/blackberry fruit – but lacks elegance at this stage as fruit too jammy and the firm tannins not fully integrated (there is some ‘heat’) and perhaps there is insufficient acidity to retain freshness.

In summary, the 2004 Torbreck was disappointing – although there is fruit intensity and complexity, it is a massive and somewhat chewy wine at this stage needing time to evolve assuming the acidity lasts that long (in contrast to the attractively drinking balanced 2002 Struie that we tasted last year).

Alc 14.5%

David Reynaud Crozes Hermitage 2011

Crozes-Hermitage is a large northern Rhone appellation producing savoury, well balanced Shiraz wines, which are typically more accessible than the more structured wines produced in Hermitage and Cote Rotie.

The Reynaud “Cuvee Georges Renaud” is produced from low yielding vines (average age 25 years) grown in the Reynaud family bio-dynamically certified vineyards. The soil of Renaud’s vineyards consists of clay and alluvial stone topsoil with a chalky limestone sub-soil, with good natural ground drainage.

Made from 100% Shiraz grapes organically grown, hand-picked with fermentation and (up to 32 days) maceration taking place in open cement tanks. The wine is aged for 12 months in both cement (50%) and old large (600Lt) oak barrels (with sulphur added).

[Note: the “Cuvee Georges Renaud” (as served at WFS) should not be confused with the “David Renaud Crozes”.  The Cuvee comes from the older Dom des Bruyeres vineyard – the entry-level Crozes is produced from younger vines and is completely unoaked].

Colour:  Deep ruby colour with purple hues.

Nose:  The nose displays scents of ripe dark raspberry and cherry, a touch of liquorice and subtle peppery spice. Florally (violets/lavender) edges and some smokey notes

Palate: Light to medium weight the palate possesses flavours of savoury raspberry and cherry fruits;  liquorice and spicy earthiness. Dry, smooth, finely ground, chalky tannins;  a long, clean, minerally finish – a more acid-driven Shiraz than tannin driven.

The 2011 Crozes-Hermitage shows is a classy wine showing great balance and finesse – it is perhaps a good sign of where winemaking is going in the northern Rhone.

It was regarded as the superior of the two Shiraz on the day.

Alc 13%

1 February 2022 CoTD James Hill

Food review by Robert Wiggins

Caution; reader alert, this review does not contain any alcohol!  The wine review will be provided in a separate article.

Well, the footy season is almost upon us and James Hill a known Rugby Union tragic, in our first scrimmage of the year for the Wine and Food, kicked a goal. He has now set a blistering pace for those following in his wake. Crimony! I think that this meal was a classic rugby match with the Aussies mixing it up against the French and was worthy of a storming of the Bastille.

The Entrees

James, Paul Thorne and Gary Linanne were hard at work before the lunch, beavering away creating the entrees at a small table in the corner.  They looked so engrossed and enthused that at least one member offered to join them at their “table” for lunch, only to be informed it was a working table, and at lunch, they would be the only one at the table.

James kicked it off with Feta cheese with anchovy and pimento aka capsicum...on toasts.

The other two entrees were by;

Paul; who produced his seared foie gras with fig and red current soaked in cognac jam.

Gary created individual anchovy tarts. These were a bite-size version of the classic Nicoise pissaladiere - caramelised sweet onions in a pastry shell, topped with a whole anchovy fillet, split olive and fresh thyme and baked.

For the Main Course

James created a Tournedos de saumon et Beurre Blanc a l'oseille. (for those of us who are not Francophiles), this translates to tournedos of salmon with sorrel beurre blanc. Hold on, we are still back to French again!  No matter how you pronounce it, the dish was delicious.  Nothing better than salmon and mash!

The salmon was cut into discs. One piece of salmon was placed on the bottom of a pie tin then a dûxelle of carrot zucchini, champignons, eschalots layered on top then another disc of salmon was added.

It was served with snow peas and a potato mash that had shallots (spring onions) and parsley mixed with it. A few clever individuals playing Inspector Clueso were correct with the mystery ingredient of sorrel.

The Cheese

Now everyone has different tastes, it is one of the advantages of the society, however, if there was one bit of controversy of the meal, it was possibly the selection of the cheese and this other than the wines was the outlier.  Given that it was both an Aussie cheese and from Buffalo, (which to my limited knowledge not many French keep in the backyard).

It was a BUFFALO MOZZARELLA Stretched Curd with 8 Balls in a 1kg Tub, not a pool table, from Shaw River Buffalo, in Yambuk, VIC, Australia.  This of course is a very light cheese.  Generally speaking at most meals, there is never any cheese leftover, however, on a few tables, there were some balls still rolling around after everything was said and done.

Interestingly, the Australian buffalo milk and cheese-making industry was pioneered in the 1990s by Roger and Sue Haldane when, after extensive overseas research, they hand-selected and imported the finest Riverine buffalo from Italy and Bulgaria. Their specially chartered plane endured an unexpected short stopover in Tashkent, Uzbekistan en route to the Haldane family farm in Western Victoria, where milk production began in the coming months. As milk production increased, Roger and Sue started making buffalo mozzarella and yoghurt using the protein-rich milk of their grass-fed buffalo, utilizing skills learned during the training they undertook whilst in Italy.

Today, the descendants of those same Riverine buffalo still graze along the banks of the Shaw River, their fresh milk being transformed into yoghurt and cheese. The Haldane’s cheese has become synonymous with the very best of Australia’s artisan cheese production. The milk from their small herd of buffalo creating the ideal texture and flavour for crafting pasta filata style cheese. The curd once formed, is cut by hand and gently stirred with a device known as a ‘thorn bush’ due to its unique shape. When the time is just right, it is placed in baths of warm water and stretched the traditional way; by hand. This allows the cheesemakers to choose the perfect time to transform the hot curd into shiny, porcelain white balls, that are then cooled before being packed by hand into tubs of brine. The spun layers of curd give a texture that is moist and milky, with a delicate flavour distinctly different from cheeses made from cow’s milk.

The cheese salad was carrot and parsley with a dressing of red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, EVOO and sesame oil, salt and pepper. It was garnished with carrot tops.

Next week, yet another master lines up his fare in the kitchen, with Steve Liebeskind about to dazzle us with the form that won him the Chef of the Year last year.  It has already been booked out, but don’t let that stop you from trying to book.. you never know.

15 December 2021 Bill Alexiou-Hucker CoTD

Food review by Rober Wiggins

Reader Alert!  This does not have a review of the wines, these will come later.

As I write this from my covid induced downtime near the end of the year, it is a good time for reflection on the year that was, including the last Wine and Food lunch for the year; Bills’ Bash.

Bill threw everything, including the kitchen sink at this one. Left no stone unturned or palate left wanting.  The wines flowed freely, with Chilly doing his damnedest to empty the cellar of the wines deemed to be surplus to our requirements.  Especially in light of the moving of the cellar to a new home.

It was a very busy lunch, with Bill everywhere, including the awarding of the Chef of the Year Award at the end of the festivities.

This was a Greek fiesta from start to finish.  And as befitting both the occasion and the chef, we had close to 60 members attending.  An affair to remember!

Canapes

The requisite Greek Occopussy was delivered charred to perfection, with chunks on a spoon with a bit of Greek salsa.  Very delicious, but a bit of salt was needed for those with jaded tastes.  Bill steamed these Cephalopods for an hour, charred them on the hot plate then chopped and dried them.

This was followed by succulent, keftedes; juicy Greek meatballs, made from grated tomatoes, oregano and dried onions, then deep-fried.

This was served with a great tomato-based sauce (with rendered reduced tomatoes, basil leaves and garlic and onions. The only negative comment was the sauce was hard to pick up by the balls, (isn’t that always the case?). Possibly a small implement for dishing out would have been appropriate. You could tell how juicy the balls were, with many members having the clear juice running down and through their jowls. These little babies were hoovered up by the members, whenever they made an appearance.

The Taramasalata cups were a wonderful taste setter, smooth and creamy centre, plus some Fetta and capsicum cups.  This was a clever innovation by Bill; he used burritos, cut into shapes and pushed into the right shapes in the cup pans, lightly baked and the result was a brilliant base for the two fillings.

To round it all off, there was the requisite Dolmades (stuffed vine leaves) with tzatziki dip.

Needless to say, there were no leftovers.

Our Food Master produced all of this by himself!  Amazing.

Mains

For the main show, it was as one member remarked “delicious chicken with the best skin he ever tasted”

 It was, of course, Bill’s Slow cooked pork belly, with wonderful crackling testing both some of the old teeth in the room as well as their shiny new dentures.

This was accompanied with a fennel and apple puree, some hasselback potatoes, (cut, steamed and cooked in duck fat), sautéed broccolini in butter and a mushroom red wine reduction

For Bill, this was a 3-ring affair or more to the point a 3-refrigerator affair to keep all of the goodies cool for opening day.

Cheese

The cheese was a Holy Goat La Luna Ring.  This ring-shaped La Luna goats’ cheese is made using organic goats’ milk from Sutton Grange in Victoria. Surfaced ripened with geotrichum, which give this cheese its distinct wrinkly exterior. Runny inside the rind, curdy and smooth in the centre, this cheese is delicate, flavoursome and nutty. And it was delicious!  Good choice guys for the end of year celebrations.

Cheese accompaniment

Charcuterie; no salad but a tray of 3 different types of meat from Woollies.

Then to finish it all off, we had Baklava with the Society coffee

If we had not had enough firewater by this time, out came the Mastiha for a digestive.  Evidently, this only comes from one place in the world; sap from a tree on Mastica, which was also used for chewing gum and body lotions.

This whole affair was almost at the end when Bill presented the Chef of the Year Awards

Between the six chefs, there was only a 1-point difference, with the imitable Steve Liebeskind coming up trumps, for yet another year.  So, all of the drunken chefs were all contemplating on where they would be hiding their celebratory knives as they prepared to board public transport.  

It’s been a challenging year for all of us and let’s hope that 2022 sees us all in a much better space and time than this horrid year full of dodging, weaving, hiding, lockdowns and masking up.

See you all in 22, with possibly these write-ups from someone new.