AGM and Lunch 22 March 2016

Following on from three successful cook offs we were treated to a pork experience from the in-control and relaxed Roger Straiton with finishing assistance from Paul Thorne. The stress of the AGM and its associated crowning of new President Keith Steele was missed by our chef who was immersed with his pig pieces in the kitchen.

To begin, Roger presented some seared prawns prepared in garlic dominated marinate. So popular were they that some did not see them pass by. We also had very tasty puff pastry rolls incorporating parmesan, fetta and spinach. Wonderful flavour. As we started imbibing early due the early finish of the AGM we had a cornucopian selection of wines including the 2010 Chardonnays from both Denmar Estate and Belgravia, Kilikanoon Clare Valley Riesling 2008, Lindemans HV Semillon and odd bottles of Provence rose, local rose and Denmar Estate Merlot. There may have been others in this one hour feast of pre-lunch wines. The ever reliable Lustau stable provided us with both Fino and Amontillado sherry.

The porchetta came to the table in excellent condition, just underdone in the centre and accompanied by well crisped potatoes and baby carrots with an interesting if slightly too liquid sauce. Interesting because Roger declared that three bottles of port were sacrificed to soak the cranberries that made up the base of the sauce. He bought four bottles but soaked up the other himself. The pork loin had an inviting stuffing of onion, fennel, sage, cranberries, pine nuts and tasty mortadella. Well liked and commented upon. We had man sized portions and none went hungry.

Cellarmaster Ferman selected as an accompaniment an interesting comparison involving Nicolas Reau Anjou Pompois Cabernet Franc 2010 from Loire and Chateau Belloy Canon-Fronsac 2010, the former 100% Cabernet Franc and the latter 40% with the remainder Merlot. The crowd favourite varied from table to table. The Pompois was savoury, fresh and Chuggable (apparently) whilst the Belloy was supple with a Bordeaux structure having medium tannins but suitable for current drinking. Both much enjoyed.

Cheesemaster Ross McDonald, in his swan song in the role, excelled with the presentation of the fabulous Holy Goat La Luna from our own Castlemaine district and possibly Australia’s most expensive cheese. The French can only weep and our new Cheesemaster, James Healey, can only weep for the budget impact. Creamy, full bodied with such depth of flavour, it was much enjoyed. It was accompanied a delicious fruit log of Spanish walnuts and dates sourced by Roger. We enjoyed this with Giradin Bourgogne Pinot Noir Cuvée Saint-Vincent 2012 and Epsilon Shiraz 2006 from the Barossa. These provided a real contrast in styles with the Giradin a fine but straightforward Burgundy with elegance up against to a smooth and fruity Barossa Epsilon, enjoyable but lacking a little structure. Most seemed to prefer the Barossa match given the full bodied La Luna demanded presence from a wine.

The coffee was donated by Graham Bell and was bought back from a visit to Vietnam. In fact it was kopi luwak or “bobby britton coffee”, an Arabica bean which is part-digested coffee cherries eaten and tastefully defecated by the Asian palm civet. In a trend for this lunch it is claimed as the world’s most expensive coffee. Sweet, vanilla and an inky black it bears no hallmarks of its pipeline to the cup. We enjoyed the coffee with the birthday wine from Leigh Hall, a Baileys Vintage Port from the 80’s.

Our new President asked Colin Cook to close the lunch. He did so with a fine quote from Horace circa 20BC.

3rd cook off 15 March 2016

Word had got around, and about 45 members and guests turned up to experience a rerun of Steve Liebeskind 's very well received smoked salmon in mushroom broth, with Paul Irwin assisting.

But first, an array of canapes, featuring a rich and sticky duck liver pate on bread rounds, a delicate prawn mousse on pumpernickel and two pastes made from the mushroom leftovers: a buttery finely minced "pate" and a coarser darker and more highly flavoured "terrine", both on bread rounds. The 2008 Kilikanoon Clare Valley served with them showed the gold colour of a bit of age, but was still drinking fresh with good acid balance. The Lustau fino sherry was its usual quality.

Steve's main was again a triumph, with lightly hot-smoked fillets of salmon, crisp-skinned, lowered into an intense mushroom broth with just the skin above the liquid. In the broth, some chopped Chinese cabbage and pieces of oyster mushroom with whole enoki mushrooms gave the dish texture, although there was a bit much of them. But the salmon was a joy (if some pieces were a tad overdone) and the broth was more so, with a soup spoon thoughtfully provided. The Chris Alexiou trophy looms. The accompanying wines were a 2007 Yering Station chardonnay from the Yarra, and a 2010 Paliser Martinborough pinot from NZ. A quality white with plenty of rich stone fruit flavours, although a bit woody for the smoking in the fish. The pinot, a good concept with the dish, disappointed in quality terms, with strong sweet pinot characters not balanced by any real acid or tannins, and a hard finish on the back palate.

Steve's cheese wish was granted by the Cheese Master, in the form of an Ossau Iraty semi-hard sheep's milk cheese from the French Basque region of Aquitaine produced there for more than 4000 years. Salty on the rind with a lovely soft moist and oily paste showing olive notes on the palate, it received unanimous praise. As did, in the main, the matching wines: a 2005 wine labelled as Rosemount Mudgee shiraz cabernet, but in real life the Mountain Blue; and a 2007 Calo Reserve rioja, made on tempranillo grapes, from Spain. Both were great examples of their pedigree, the Mountain Blue soft and sweet with elegance and a long finish; the Spanish bigger and fuller, with a tonne of flavour and tannins to keep it in check. Most preferred the Oz, but there wasn't much in it.

The coffee, provided by Spencer Ferrier in absentia, was a blend of Kenyan A and B beans, the latter giving darker notes to a clean balanced brew with good citrus acidity. A birthday Armagnac from Peter Kelso, towards the sweeter end of the Armagnac spectrum, went down well with it.

2nd cook off 8 March 2016

The cook off caravan moves on, and 2nd out of the blocks was James Hill, reprising his duck breast European-style, with help from Gary Linnane.

But first, some introductory canapes in the form of a handmade olive bread and a light but flavoursome smoked salmon tartare redolent of chopped chives and dill on small sourdough rounds. The Wine Master matched their quality with a subtly sweet but crisp and refreshing Lindemans Hunter Semillon from 2011. There was also a drop of the 2010 Den Mar Hunter chardonnay from last week, and, of course, the ever present and ever welcome Lustau fino sherry (particularly good with the smoked salmon).

Superior duck breasts, smeared with a spice rub, had been seared to reduce the fat, then baked, sluiced and presented with whole chat potatoes cooked in goose fat, a lightly pickled shredded cabbage and apple mix and some thinly sliced and lightly cooked apple pieces. The duck was moist and tender, if a little overdone on most plates, and well balanced by the tart sweetness of the cabbage and apple, both in flavour and texture. In wines, we were well served by a mystery number which most picked as a pinot from France and by a 2011 Medhurst pinot from the Yarra Valley. Comparisons were obvious, the local wine showing spicy sweet fruit which did settle down and show more complexity and elegance in the glass. Unfortunately, the comparisons were skewed a little when it was revealed that the masked wine, although French, was in fact a young shiraz from the Northern Rhone (2012), showing enough soft spice and barnyard feral characters to mislead. Not bad with the duck, though.

The CheeseMaster did it again, presenting a Saint Agur, a soft, double-cream blue-vein cheese from the Auvergne region of France. Rich, buttery and with a hint of mushroom from the veining, it went beautifully with the fully ripe figs served with it; a mixed bitter leaf salad of chicory and radicchio acted to cut the sweetness and richness. As did a brace of wines: the 1998 Piramimma Stocks Hill McLaren Vale shiraz showing typical fully mature Oz-style shiraz characters, and another which varied from table to table but which on most was the2001 Burton Limestone Coast merlot, again fully mature and worth drinking for its gentle tannins and soft fruit.

The coffee came to us from the South of Brazil, a good rich aroma and taste with low acid, obviously for the US market. Not much acid, either, in the birthday port supplied by James Hill, Lyndhurst The Grate tawny from Clare, but plenty of sweet fruit and a great rancio character.

1st cook off 1 March 2016

It was the 1st day of autumn (not that you would have known it) and an appropriate day to kick off the 2016 cook offs, where the finalists for the Chef of the Year and the Chris Alexiou Trophies vie for the favours of members with a lunch, usually but not necessarily a remake of the meal which got them there.

The 1st round featured Bruce Thomas, with help from son Ben, and he set a pretty high standard. Canapes were fresh figs with cream cheese wrapped in a superior prosciutto, and a great, and seasonal, hit of salt and sweet; together with Bruce's trademark lightly cured salmon with sour cream on thin toasts. Both were welcome, and reasonably well matched with a 2011 Sallys Corner chardonnay from Exeter NSW (donated by Bruce) showing cool climate fruit and slightly awkward wood, perhaps needing more time. A couple of bottles of Den Mar chardonnay from the Hunter were also on offer, with lighter sweeter fruit drinking well now. Best food match was of course the Lustau fino sherry, tangy and bright.

Ignoring the seasonal problems, Bruce sourced some very good Cowra lamb to produce a beautifully done rack of lamb in a reduction jus with a boiled kestrel potato and some nicely crunchy green beans. The crust on the rack was chopped parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme (memories of the '60s), and the jus was a reduction of lamb bones and aromatic vegetables enriched with mustard, garlic and anchovies and sweetened with a bit of cranberry sauce. Simple in concept and presentation, the juicy pink tenderness of the meat was the crowning feature, and complaints were few. A mixed leaf green salad was served too late to accompany the food but provided a refreshing palate cleanser. Paul Ferman matched this food with a 2008 Huntington cabernet from Mudgee, a good wine but a bit heavy for the flavours on the plate, and a 2008 Vasse Felix cabernet from WA, a more stylish wine with strong dusty cabernet characters and good drinking with the lamb.

Bruce's choice of cheese, dutifully supplied by the Cheese Master, was a Maffra cloth-bound cheddar from Gippsland in Victoria. A good cheddar, with plenty of nutty grassy flavours and bite, it was probably not up to the English standard, or to the local Pyengana, but no less enjoyable on that account and well balanced by a homemade pecan and fig paste served with it. On the wine front, we saw a 2007 Cliff Edge shiraz from the Grampians (a 2nd label for Langi Ghiran), big and fruity but well balanced and at or near its best, and a surprisingly (for some) good 2003 Macquariedale Thomas shiraz from the Hunter with the merest hint of sweaty saddle on the nose, and clean integrated fruit with soft tannins.

The coffee was strong with slight bitter notes but cleaning, a Colombian Diala bean.

Wine tasting 23 February 2016

In an early display of spring fever, our Wine Master Paul Ferman attempted, and largely succeeded in executing, a triple reverse somersault with pike by cooking (with a hand from Gary Linnane) as well as selecting the wines. We now look forward to a foodie invasion of the cellar.

To start, Paul gave us a couple of aperitifs from Tellurian, a vineyard in Heathcote, Vic. First up was a 2013 marsanne, a Rhone white grape best known here for the consistently good product from Tahbilk. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for this wine, with some good fruit overpowered by 14% alcohol and a slightly viscous consistency to yield a flavoursome but heavy wine. A rose from the same stable was better, nicely dry bur still lacking elegance. Along with the reliable Lustau fino sherry, the canapes starred, with some classy Ortiz anchovies atop a tasty but not dominant tomato relish on lightly toasted rounds, and a rich and comforting soup, made on artichokes with potato, celery, herbs and plenty of cream and butter, served warm in cups.

Before devising the meal, Paul's devious mind had concocted a test of palates, in which a few members did surprisingly well. Two whites and 5 reds (one a birthday bonus from Ross Tzannes) were presented masked, identified only as 3 French and 1 each from USA, Italy, Greece and Australia, and the hunt was on. No bread was thrown (the Iggys sourdough was too good to waste), but opinions differed although there was greater agreement on favoured wines. Once revealed, the 1st surprise was the 1st white, a 2008 riesling from Oregon in the sweeter range. Then they were, in order: 2008 Alsace Riesling (intense and the best wine on the table for many); a 2006 Pommard 1er cru (typically light and elegant, and slightly overcooked, the birthday wine); 2011 Chianti Classico (a big chianti which had some tending towards Oz); a2009 Greek blend featuring syrah amongst others (not nearly as bad as jaundiced tasters were looking for); 2006 Seppelts St Peters( disappointing for a wine of this quality, with fruit dropping out); and 2005 Ch Lanessan,(an unclassified Bordeaux which showed a degree of bottle variation according to comments from some tables, but which was very good on most). Mostly at the more restrained end of the spectrum, the reds in particular were tested against Paul's rustic French chicken casserole, featuring a sauce with heaps of herbs, bacon pieces and lots of flavour, with the chicken (on the bone) slightly overdone on some plates. A light potatoes dauphin and some still slightly crunchy sliced zucchini made up the plate.

Doubtless anticipating the main course food and the top Burgundy on offer, Ross MacDonald chose to present a Delice de Bourgogne, aptly described as "a decadent triple cream" from Burgundy; in perfect condition with an earthy inviting rind surrounding a sweet buttery paste which invoked cholesterol amnesia. Simple grapes were all that was needed to accompany, along with the wines and the aforementioned Iggy's bread.

We moved to Mexico with the coffee, a medium roast bean well described by Spencer Ferrier as well balanced in all respects. Much like the whole meal, really.

Lunch 16 February 2016

Our genial, and talented, Food Master, Nick Reynolds, was the go-to man, helped in the plating area by James Hill. Italian was the theme, and all masters rose to the occasion.

KISS was the principle for nibbles, with some chopped fresh figs wrapped in prosciutto: a good salt and sweet hit to start, followed by savoury in the form of reconstituted Nonna's meatballs, presented small and redolent with paprika and herbs. Better with the former than then latter was an aperitif 2003 Tyrrells Vat 4 HVD Semillon, lacking acid structure but quite sweet and pleasant as it was. A Lustau fino, ever-reliable, was also on offer.

The (summer) Italian theme continued with vitello tonnato, but not as most knew it. Instead of the traditional hot-boiled veal, Nick cooked his veal knuckles sous vide until on the well-done end of rare, then sliced them thin and presented them in fanned slices on the plate topped by the tuna sauce and a little caprese salad of fresh sliced tomato, mozzarella and basil. The veal was cooked in a stock with vegetables and lots of anchovy, and some of the stock was added to a rich sauce made on hard-boiled egg yolks, canned tuna and a heap of capers, the whole served cold. The meat was glowing pink and tender, and the sauce was rich and full of flavour, although some called for a bigger caper hit. Full marks for presentation, and for execution. There was an international lineup of wine to accompany, a 2013 Tellurian rose from Heathcote made on shiraz, mourvedre and nero d'avola (a red grape from Sicily), showing a dry palate with a good mix of floral and spice although served a bit too chilled. It was pretty good with the food, but most preferred a 2011 Allegrini valpolicella, with rose hints and long and soft on the palate with subtle tannin grip.

Not to be outdone, Ross MacDonald turned on an outstanding cheese, a thoroughly ripe and runny Taleggio washed rind cows' milk number from the eponymous country. The rind was coloured with red notes and showed salty and crunchy maturity without a trace of ammonia, while the oozy, nutty paste filled the mouth (and the plate). Some organic apricots and mixed salted nuts were simple and apt accompaniments; as were a brace of accompanying barbera reds: a 2010 La Zona from the King Valley in Victoria; and a 2009 Castellania Colli Tortonesi from N Italy. The local was an enjoyable wine, with full and soft fruit, but could not match the acid and tannin structure of the real thing, lively and impressive.

An Italian roast of New Guinea beans provided a full and rich coffee to finish with some typical bitterness showing through to cut the richness of the meal.

Lunch 9 February 2016

It was the second lunch for 2016, but there was none of the anticlimax which often comes with No.2. Around 40 members with a smattering of guests (including the son of a current member) were there to see Jim Tinslay and David Madson knock up some pretty impressive food, ably supported by Paul Ferman on wines, Ross MacDonald on cheese and James Hill, filling in for Spencer Ferrier, talking to the coffee.

Let's start with starters. David had experimented with a Japanese prawn mayo on crisp egg noodle baskets, but unfortunately the crispness turned to tooth-shattering hardness which tested the chewing power of the hardiest. Still, the prawn and mayo were pretty good on their own, and there was nothing wrong with some juicy chicken kebabs, Middle Eastern in influence with yoghurt and cumin. A 2002 Richmond Grove Watervale Riesling, one of the 1st produced under stelvin, showed the benefits of that closure, most bottles being developed but still fresh and intense, although some were more advanced.

The main course saw a bit of Eurasian fusion: some slow-braised pork neck covered in a sticky sweet glaze with lots of brown sugar, star anise and garlic to lend it softness and flavour. The sauce (never enough) was intense and the meat was accompanied by some unusual red cauliflower and nicely done snow peas. The wine master, not for the 1st time, went out on a limb to present a2010 Ch Musar Jeune, a blend of cinsault, syrah and cabernet from the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon, and a 2007 blaufrankisch made in Austria by a winemaker from the Yarra Valley (Mac Forbes). His boldness was redeemed by the 1st wine, which showed soft developed fruit under a strong acid structure. The Austrian wine was a bit disappointing, light with some fruit in the Oz style, but no match for the food.

The Europeans took over with the cheese, to everyone's delight. Most recognised an Occelli Testun di Barolo, a distinctive semi-hard cheese made in the Piedmont region of Italy from cow and goats' milk and rolled in the must left from the making of the local Barolo wine; even if most could not name it. A great cheese with slightly crumbly texture and a fine winey grape flavour with the paste. Simple dried fruit and nuts were served with it, and I suppose a brace of wines in theme was to be expected. The 1st, a 2010 Ceretto Nebbiolo d'Alba was a lovely wine: fragrant nose which led to a nice balance of tannins and acid under some still young fruit, good with the cheese and likely to improve. The other, a 2007 SC Pannell Adelaide Hills nebbiolo, was well made by a recognised experimenter in "other" varieties; but nebbiolo is a pitiless grape and the product, while approachable now, lacked the fire and tannin of the Italian version.

Brazilian beans from Sao Paulo produced the coffee. Predominantly medium roast, there were still some burnt bitter notes which cleared the palate. Just as well, because significant birthday boy Keith Steele turned on a sip of 1956 Penfolds Grandfather port which sent everyone home happy and satisfied.

First lunch 2 February 2016

A new year, and some new ideas in the kitchen for the Society's first lunch of the year from old hand James Hill, with assistance from Gary Linnane and James Tinslay.

Seafood was (mainly) the go, starting with simple mussels in the shell poached in the liquid in which nori, or dried seaweed, had been reconstituted for the main dish. A bit of salt showed, but not too much to spoil the mussel flavour. A duck and lychee salad on porcelain spoons from Gary Linnane was the other canape, shredded duck and the eponymous fruit with fresh ginger, coriander and crushed peanuts dressed in a sauce based on hoisin. Great flavours and texture, it was a palpable hit, especially with a glass of 2000 Tyrrells Vat 1 semillon provided by Paul Ferman along with an economy champagne from Aubert & Fils, and the same old welcome old Lustau sherry, this time the manzanilla. The Vat 1had a nice grassy nose, but was starting to fade on the palate.

The Asian influence of the canapes continued into the main course: some moderately sized salmon steaks, marinated in a teriyaki sauce made on sake, mirin, soy and a bit of sugar, then baked until (for some, a trifle over-)cooked, and served topped by chopped reconstituted nori, some crunchy diced snake beans, and a well done brown rice in neat moulds with a piece of fresh seaweed salad providing a note of colour and crunch. The sauce was great, especially if you managed to get a second helping and the whole was both pretty to look at and a pleasure to eat. Ferman went out on a limb with the wines, giving us a conventional white in the form of a floral, limey and still youthfully acidic 2008 Stoney Rise riesling from Tamar Valley in Tasmania coupled with a brave rose, the 2009 Castagna Allegro from Beechworth. Made from shiraz, it was quite high in alcohol at 14% and obviously fermented right out to complete dryness, with some meaty guava notes to the nose and palate. An interesting wine: pity some minds were closed at the mention of rose.

For cheese, we welcomed back Ross MacDonald and some little Fromagers des Clarines, a washed rind cheese from the Franche-Comte region of France. They were, unfortunately, very young and quite cold, so we missed out on the full glory of the aroma and nutty sticky paste of a ripe cheese; but there was enough lactic and grass flavours present to indicate what was to come. Some fresh muscatel grapes (the best eating grapes of all) were an ideal accompaniment; closely followed by a 2009 Wairau River Pinot from Marlborough NZ and a 2003 Tyrrells Vat 9 shiraz. The pinot was a bit decorative and confectionery, but the Vat 9 showed some lovely Hunter fruit under a bit of stink, and was the wine of the day.

Spencer Ferrier spoke to the coffee, a Costa Rican medium roast bean with an attractive mix of chocolate richness and some astringent acidity. The birthday port, a Seppelts DP90 tawny from the Wine master, spoke for itself.

Welcome back, one and all.

Final lunch 8 December 2015

It was not quite the Last Supper, but a mighty multitude of 58 members and guests assembled for the last fling of the Society year.

In the kitchen was Food Master Nick Reynolds, supported by Steve Liebeskind, producing some original, and tasty, food. To start, canapes on sticks: a choice of compressed watermelon cubes decorated with a mint tapenade and warm haloumi; a spicy slice of warm chorizo sausage topped with a baby prawn; and slices of warm black pudding with salmon roe. All different and all good, especially the last. Wine Master Paul Ferman backed this up with the usual lineup of sundry aperitifs: a totally acceptable Pierre Gimonet NV champagne (with cassis on the side for those who wanted a kir royale); a clean and refreshing Salinger local fizz; a repeat of the Warramate 2012 riesling from the Yarra; and a stray bottle of Lustau sherry.

The main course was a Reynolds tour de force, with pieces of skirt steak glued together to form a roll, cooked sous vide for about 60 hours, then seared on top of the stove, sliced into cylinders and presented on a trimmed and roasted flat mushroom with Pommes Maxine, broccolini and a veal-based reduction sauce made with the lot and tasting intense and sticky. The meat was tasty, although slightly overdone and the spuds, made by arranging thin slices of potato in a disc shape held together by potato starch, did not reward the effort that went into making them. But the sauce more than compensated for any such minor defects, and all plates went back wiped clean. The accompanying reds were both of the big and bounteous style, with 14.5% alcohol: a 2002 St Halletts Blackwell shiraz from Barossa, and a 2007 Cliff Edge (the second label of Langhi Ghiran) shiraz from the Grampians in Victoria. Both showed hot fruit, although there was a touch of greenness about the Blackwell which bespoke excessive canopy on the grapes prior to picking.

Ross MacDonald did it again with the cheese, an Occelli Testun di Barolo. This is a semi-hard and matured cheese made from a mix of cows' and goats' milk in Piedmont, and distinguished by its deep red coating of dried must from Barolo wines. It showed a wonderful sweet nutty paste with a hint of winey characters from the coating. It was appropriately matched with a 2002 Damiano Barolo which exhibited bottle variation from a difficult year, but good bottles showing developed tar and roses character and obviously a great match with the cheese. As was, to a lesser extent, a 2001 Burton merlot from the Limestone Coast in SA, with impressive round tannins under fully mature fruit, ready to drink now. The cheese was simply served with dried fruit and nuts, suitably festive, and special note must be made of Nick Reynolds' home churned butter, served throughout the meal.

The coffee, from a Coffee Master trapped in court, was Spencer Ferrier's own blend of 50% Indian Devon Estate and 50% PNG beans. It came up light and soft on the palate with a pleasing clean, slightly acid, finish. A final gift from Santa Ferman was a drop of a private bin muscat made by Tim Kirk at Clonakilla and obtained by unspecified means. It was worth it, light but appropriately Xmas pudding in the glass, and the best way to farewell a pretty successful year for the Society.

The Federation of Wine and Food Societies of Australia was respresented by President Ian Hamilton who presented an  FWFSA award to Peter Kelso for longstanding and dedicated service to our society. Thank you Peter.

The staff at the Royal Exchange club were recognised by President Greg Chugg for their assitance during the year.

Mixed lunch 1 December 2015

Whether it was the drawcard of chef of the day Gary Patterson, the weather (hot) or the time of year we don't know; but a lively crowd of 42 or so members and guests were on hand to enjoy a seasonal meal. Especially welcome were 6 members of the Ladies' Wine & Food Society (in addition to those present as partners of our members), led by President Cynthia Stericker.

'Tis the season for seafood, and that's what we got, starting with pieces of sliced sashimi tuna lifted with a dab of wasabi; and superb medium Sydney rock oysters, served in the shell with a gentle ponzu dressing. A grab bag of aperitif wines was on hand, including a pretty decent Salinger sparkling, with or without a hit of cassis, a Warramate rose with more oomph than usual for the style, a good but not brilliant riesling from the same maker and a Lindemans sparkling shiraz, starting to lose its sparkle.

For mains, Gary had sourced some huge tiger prawns from the Gulf of Carpentaria and, with the assistance of Mark Bradford, presented two of them whole on each plate, grilled and juicy, with a salad of wilted spinach, snow peas, crumbled fetta cheese and walnut pieces, in which were embedded some freshly seared scallops. The task of peeling the prawns was more than rewarded by the result, and the whole presented as a light, fresh and sea-flavoured dish. With it came a couple of overseas wines: a 2010 Bramito della Sala chardonnay from Umbria and a 2010 Le Rose du Valon rose from Provence. The white was well made, with sweet fruit, minimal wood and a bite of acid on the finish to give it structure; the rose was what you would expect, with a dry light and very delicate palate which improved with food.

The cheese, introduced by Mike Staniland in the absence of the Cheese Master, showed as a well-flavoured but slightly rubbery washed rind, and was revealed as a local production, a L'Artisan Mountain Man from Timboon in Victoria. Well made, but no Taleggio or Reblochon. It was well matched by a 2009 Stonier pinot noir from Mornington, a good example of an Oz pinot with age showing good tannins on top of tight fruit with a hint of funkiness. A 2000 Coriole McLaren Vale shiraz was less successful with the cheese, although showing typical bricky fruit and colour, still holding on to its character. We also got a look at a French sticky, a 2011 Ch La Rame St Croix du Mont, which had a hint of botrytis with the sweetness of the fruit and was, as intended, a good match with the cheese.

The coffee was Spencer Ferrier's own blend of Yurgachef and Colombian medium roast beans, and combined big soft flavour in the mouth with some citric acidity on the finish. It was great to drink with a birthday Calvados, or apple brandy, supplied by James Tinslay, who was duly thanked.