On Remembrance Day, it was fitting that Peter Manners, with a massive supporting cast of Bob Swinney, Peter Squires and Neil Galbraith, should give us something nostalgic for both canapé and main courses, the latter in the form of canard a l'orange. All this plus a superior duck soup preceding it to allow for the last attenders at the funeral of member Richard Davis to make the lunch.

The canapes were an obviously duck liver-based pate, sumptuously moist and flavoursome, on crackers, little squares of interleaved cream cheese and cured ham slices and an earthy duxelles of mushrooms, enlivened with offcuts of the ham, in mini- pastry cases. The accompanying wine was a 2013 Ata Rangi pinot gris from Marlborough NZ which, although quite sweet in the NZ style, had good crisp acid and a moderate pear drop influence , making it refreshing and a good aperitif.

After the soup came the duck, good tender breasts cooked well (if a little past rose pink), cut in two and served under a great burnt orange sauce with duck fat baked potato, crunchy green beans, a slice of lightly baked red capsicum and, topping it all, a peeled half valencia orange served cold. Full marks for colour on the plate, though opinion was divided on the contribution of the orange acidity to the balance of the meal and the wine match. Speaking of which, we saw a 2010 Seresin Leah pinot noir, again from Marlborough NZ, and from out of left field a 2012 Musar Jeune, the second label of Ch Musar from the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon. The NZ wine showed identifiable "ducks guts" characters on the nose, but on the palate was soft and simple. The Lebanese wine, made from cinsault, shiraz and cabernet sauvignon, was a more complex and satisfying drop with a good fruit/acid/tannin balance and a longish finish.

The cheese maintained the standard: a double cream Tarago Shadows of Blue from Gippsland Victoria which was soft in the brie style but with a light but full flavour from the Roquefort mould blue marbling. It still showed youthful lactic acidity, but will undoubtedly improve with age. With it were seedless green grapes and a selection of dried figs and apricots with cashews and, vinously, a 2009 blaufrankisch from Hahndorf Hill SA, soft and round with some dried herbs evident on the finish but not exciting; and a 1998 Piramimma Stocks Hill Shiraz from McLaren Vale, a good wine which has passed its best and showed volatile oxidative notes on the nose and palate.

With the coffee (unidentified), a tribute to late member Richard Davis with the traditional toast in green chartreuse concluded a lunch to remember