Ignoring the cracks about mothers-in-law, Royal Exchange Club manager and new member Will Hattersley talked to his, and came up with an authentic version of a dish from her native Haut-Savoie region of eastern France: raclette (although some recalcitrant Swiss persist in claiming the dish as theirs).

It was preceded by some canapes of smoked salmon with crème fraiche on crispbread and smoked oysters with a horseradish cream sauce on the same. None the worse for being a late inspiration, they were accompanied by a 2011 Tim Smith Eden Valley Riesling which was okay but uninspired with a hard finish and light fruit, and the Lustau manzanilla sherry, a regular aperitif with reliable style and salty bite proving a better match for the snacks.

The raclette dish was a community effort on the table, each of which was equipped with a special raclette grill brought in by Will for the occasion. Pieces of raclette cheese were grilled on trowels until melting and bubbly, then transferred to individual plates with ham and pastrami, boiled new potatoes, cocktail onions and cornichons provided to accompany, together with lots of good French baguette bread and a touch of chutney which soon vanished. Designed for sharing around a table after a hard day's skiing, the food went down surprisingly well on a typical humid Sydney day, helped by an eclectic lineup of wines: 2007 Tyrrells Steven Semillon; 2009 Ernst Triebaumer blaufrankisch from Austria; 2000 Ingoldby shiraz from McLaren Vale; and 2004 Majella Coonawarra cabernet. Opinions were divided on the best wine and best match: for many, the Steven was a terrific example of the fruitier style of Hunter semillon, but not quite up to the food, while the Austrian wine, with lighter, more acid characters than the other 3 reds was best with the food although outclassed as a drink by the remarkably smooth and rich shiraz and the big, slightly overripe Coonawarra.

The 4 wines were served together because there was, obviously, no cheese course. Instead, Will produced individually baked apple cakes, with good texture and pleasantly tart fruit, which were well washed down by a 2007 Ch Lafaurie Peyraguey Sauternes from France, luscious and starting to mature, fortuitously provided by birthday boy Peter Kelso. Coffee was a house blend of medium roast beans from Forsyths, full in the mouth with woody chocolate notes and a clean finish. It was made even better by a prune liqueur, made by Will's granfather, with plenty of fire but identifiable fruit from a bit of ageing.