It was good to see Bruce Thomas( immaculately attired as usual in chef's whites) back in the kitchen, assisted by good mate and fellow member Mark Compton.

First up were some fine canapes, a piece of Bruce's trademark lightly cured salmon with crème fraiche in a short pastry cup, and some quality duck liver pate with lashings of grand marnier on plain thin toasts. The main aperitif to accompany was a 2013 Tellurian marsanne from Heathcote, fresh and juicy but a bit sweet and monodimensional. Also on offer was the last of the McWilliams Vintage amontillado sherry, rich and full but lacking the cut of the Lustau equivalent.

For the main course, Bruce took us to Normandy, with large veal backstraps roasted, sliced and served on a bed of celeriac and winter root vegetable puree with slice of cored and poached spiced apple on top and a veal reduction stock enriched with calvados, verjuice and cream poured over. Completing the plate were some perfectly crunchy beans and snow peas. The meat was great, although with inevitable differences in doneness according to the part of the backstrap it came from. The sauce was a joy, and in all it was a classic French bistro dish, not too heavy but tasty and satisfying. Satisfying, and interesting, might also be applied to the accompanying wines: a 2010 Nicolas Reau Pompois Anjou and a Mediterra Toscana from the same year. Neither was familiar to most members; the Anjou, made from cabernet franc grapes, was youthfully purple, with a pronounced spritz, some briary characters and clean, while the Toscana was made from traditional shiraz, cabernet and merlot and showed as a more serious wine with fine tannins balancing some high (14.5%) alcohol and a good match with the food. If they expanded members' horizons, that is no bad thing.

The cheese, of course, also came from Normandy: a rather young but decidedly delicious Fromage de Meaux, the pasteurised version of Brie de Meaux. It showed typical grassy notes in the paste, which was still crumbly and slightly sour in the centre, with lovely floury rind and no hint of ammonia. With it, Bruce served his trademark quince paste, a developed and slightly tart labour of love, and some fresh walnuts, now in season. Wine Master Paul Ferman returned to Australia with a 2000 Tyrrells Vat 1 semillon and a 2010 Tappanappa Foggy Hill pinot from the Fleurieu Peninsula of SA. The Vat 1 was still a baby, with high acid dominating the top fruit and perhaps a bit restrained for the cheese compared with the pinot, made by Brian Crozer and a really good Oz pinot, with Burgundian notes on the nose and nice vegetal characters on the palate; it needs time to improve

Finally, Spencer Ferrier gave us a coffee made on medium roast beans from a single estate in Panama, in the lighter style but with a firm finish and enough acid to give it interest. It was outclassed by a birthday wine from Martin McMurray, a 12-year matured Stanton & Killeen muscat from Rutherglen, grapey, sweet and luscious, the classic Xmas pudding in a glass.