To be sure, it was reconstructed Irishman John O'Rourke in the kitchen for St Patricks Day, and the food was very much in theme. Although a finalist in the 2014 COTY, John had ruled himself out of contention as a previous 3-times winner, but that didn't stop him cooking up a storm.

To warm up, we had Guinness and oysters; the former needing no comment, and the latter a terrific example of large Sydney rocks, served in the shell, mainly unadorned except for a drop of lemon, but some with a bit of pickled ginger, nice but unnecessary. Also on hand was a 2010 The Yard chardonnay from Margaret River, light on fruit but refreshing and showing some development; and the ever-reliable Lustau manzanilla sherry.

So on to the main course, Irish stew but not as you know it. A big stock was made from lamb pieces and bones with aromatic vegetables including onion and leeks, to which was added cubed lamb leg and, at the last moment, diced carrot so that it retained crunch. The obligatory praties were cooked separately in stock for extra flavour and the stew mix poured over them before serving. Certainly too good for the peasants, this "stew" (more a casserole) was comfort food and not only for the Celts. Some great ciabatta bread from Haberfield Bakery helped to mop up the sauce. Wisely eschewing Irish wine, Paul Ferman provided a 2009 Olivers Taranga shiraz from McLaren Vale, with forward nose and medium strength fruit with a fresh finish which complemented the food. The other wine on the table was masked, and most picked it as Rhone, a choice vindicated when it was unveiled as a 2009 Mon Coeur Cotes du Rhone from Chave, a well-regarded maker. It was beaut, with intense rich fruit which will soften and become more complex with time.

John himself provided the cheese, or to be precise, the two cheeses, both of which floored the audience and which turned out to be sheep's milk cheeses from Tasmania (Grandvewe), one a manchego-style semi-hard cheese of some authenticity down to the grass-embossed rind, and the other a blue inspired by Roquefort, worthy but a little rubbery and lacking the intensely salty creaminess of the original. Whole fresh figs were an ideal accompaniment, as were a 2006 Bowen Coonawarra cabernet, and another masked wine, this time the 2005 Taylors Jaraman cabernet from Clare. The Bowen was true to area and maker, but a bit thin and sour, whilst the Taylors was complete, with perfectly ripe fruit balanced by long tannins, and to many the wine of the day.

The coffee came from New Guinea (a plantation once owned by Bob Oatley), a medium strength brew of good but not outstanding character. The kitchen leprechaun had one more surprise up his sleeve in the form of a liqueur from the same place as the cheese, made from the whey left over in the cheese-making process with vanilla added. Sweet and lactic, it took most back to the days of vanilla milkshakes; an interesting experiment which it is to be hoped will not soon be repeated .