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.