REX Advantages & BYO Friends

The Society Committee has asked members to note the benefits of their membership of The Royal Exchange of Sydney (REX) that are available to all of us. 

The offers from REX have been updated as follows, and $ and prices are correct as at April 2024.

Membership of WFS NSW gives you membership of The Royal Exchange of Sydney (REX) for no annual fees.
 
As a WFS member, you get the following wonderful benefits at REX:

• BYO wine to lunch on Monday and Friday with nil corkage fee. To assist REX with this generous offer we suggest you buy a few pre-lunch or post-lunch drinks at the bar. Please book via the REX website (BOOK HERE) and in the “Notes” section add "member WFS" for the BYO deal.

As a REX member, you are entitled to:

A $35 Express Lunch consisting of a main course and a glass of wine or beer. This can not be used in conjunction with the BYO offer.
 

The following is an extended list of REX member benefits:

DISCOUNTS & SPECIAL OFFERS
Periodic discounts and special offers on food and beverages to members.
 
FREE USE OF FACILITIES
As a member, you get free venue hire for the duration of your membership, valued at $550 per event.
 
FREE USE OF PRIVATE BOARDROOM/PRIVATE DINING ROOM
As a member, you get complimentary use of the boardroom/private dining room with no minimum spend required. Making it the perfect place to meet clients or the team.
 
IMPRESS YOUR CLIENTS
You get to be a part of a historic business club and follow in the footsteps of some of Australia’s most prominent business figures. It’s a great icebreaker with clients to start the conversation off (and keep it going) and is somewhere unique and interesting to entertain.
 
GROW YOUR NETWORK
Being a member is like you’re part of a business family. We help you get to know your fellow members and broaden your professional network. It’s a place to know people and be known.
 
MEMBERS DIRECTORY
List your business and services to other members of the club for free.
 
RECIPROCAL RIGHTS
You get free reciprocal use of over 50 clubs in Australia and worldwide. It’s an opportunity to stay in exclusive clubs’ other people can’t access.
 
EASY BILLING
We can automatically email you a copy of your bill, every time you visit. Meaning no more having to keep track of all those paper receipts.

For more information the REX brochure can be viewed HERE. 

Lunch -Tue 3 rd Nov 2015

Melbourne Cup lunch at Rocket Restaurant Chatswood BYO Booking required

Lunch 9 June 2015

The Mixed Lunch following the Queen's birthday brought out a merry crowd of 41 eager to enjoy themselves.Peter Black was in the kitchen ably assisted my his wife Margaret.

First off was a spoon of home smoked salmon which after curing in brown sugar and salt was washed off and smoked for 6 hours over cherry wood.This was served with a spot of wasabi mayonnaise and decorated with a little salmon roe. Delicious.

The following canape was Peter's home made terrine consisting of pork belly,chicken, chicken livers and pistachionuts,seasoned with fines herbes,nutmeg,thyme,sage & allspice.Served on slices of baguette with toppings of both cornichon or onion puree it won many plaudits.

Aperitif wines were Wolf Blass White Label Chardonnay 2003 - still drinking very well although one or two members feltit was getting past it's drinking window.Others felt strongly that this was not the case and it still had time in hand.Two fine sherries were also on offer Lustau Papirusa Manzanilla and Lustau Amontillado Los Arcos - both well known to members and as ever superb and full of character.

Main course was a hearty chicken broth containing the bird with tarragon,garlic,onions,leek,fennel, kipfler potatoes tomato and verjuice.Topped with some pistou(tarragon,parmesan & olive oil) it provided a tasty and satisfying dish.

Wines with this were Kayena Vineyard Tamar Ridge Pinot 2009 and La Zona Barbera 2010.Opinions were divided over thebest match with the Pinot just getting the vote.

Cheese was a Bleu de Laqueuille from the Auvergne made from pasteurised cow's milk.Salty and tangy it was a good example of it's type - not overpowering but certainly no shrinking violet.

Two Coonawarra Cabernets from 2004 were the choice to accompany this.Burton and Zema Estate again dividedthe room with the nod going to the Burton.Great fruit standing up to a cheese with muscle.

Coffee was from Ethiopia - a washed blend with full flavour,good acidity and a long finish.

3rd cook off 10 March 2015

The COTY award is given to the best main course, and sometimes this is a pity when the overall effect of the meal is especially good. This was the case last Tuesday, when Bill Alexiou-Hucker presented a Greek feast from go to whoa for the 3rd of the cook offs for the 2014 awards. We started with 3 canapes: some quality tapenade topping a slice of egg on a crouton; terrific homemade taramasalata on croutons, made even fishier with the addition of a sliver of dried mullet roe, or bottaga, on top; and a refreshing tzatziki (yoghurt with garlic, mint and lemon) on cucumber slices. All nicely balanced by a 2006 Wine Society Tasmanian riesling, mature and complex with fruit to complement the firm acid.

Bill repeated his braised octopus for the main course, with a rich tomato and red wine sauce which may have been a bit powerful for the accompanying whites but which was terrific in its own right. There was medium octopus as well as some babies in the mix, along with (slightly gluggy)risotto-style rice and some shoots of baby asparagus wrapped in prosciutto. To accompany it, a Greek white, the 2014 Thalassitis assyrtiko from Santorini, with forward nose redolent of dried herbs, cleansing acid and a good match with the food; and a local hero, the 2007 Tyrrells Vat 47 chardonnay, showing signs of maturity with buttery fruit balanced by clean acid. A better wine than the Greek, but maybe not as good a food match.

The feast continued, with a typical Greek salad made on pieces of red, yellow and green capsicum, spanish onion and (Greek, of course) fetta with olive oil. This was followed by a sweet dish of grilled haloumi cheese, made in Cyprus from sheep and goats' milk, topped by a lightly heated fresh fig sprinkled with honey. Accompanying this mixed bunch were a big, soft shiraz/merlot blend 2009 Dom Gerovassiliou from Elanomi in Greece, half a bottle of 2000 Stepping Stone Coonawarra cabernet, interesting but at the end of its life, and 1/2bottles of a Samos vin doux from that island, made on muscat grapes and softly sweet but lacking a bit of firmness. It went well with the fig and haloumi, and also with authentic Greek (aka Turkish) coffee, made thick and strong on the spot by the visiting barista from Aesop restaurant in the city with, of course, a piece of Turkish (aka Greek) Delight.

Well done, Bill, especially with around 52 members and guests there to support the Greek cause.

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Welcome

The  Wine & Food Society NSW  is one of the oldest and most renowned gastronomic societies. The Society's mission is the promotion of a broad knowledge and understanding of both wine and food, the enhancement of their appreciation, and the nurturing of camaraderie among those who share the pleasures of the table.

Our Purpose:

"To bring together and serve all who believe that a right understanding of good food and wine is an essential part of personal contentment and health, and that an intelligent approach to the pleasures and problems of the table offers far greater rewards than the mere satisfaction of appetite."

The Society thrives today, more than 75 years after its founding.  With over 140 members we offer a convivial lunch atmosphere at the Royal Exchange Club in the city. You can find more as you peruse our site. If you have any questions or want to learn more, please contact us. We hope you'll join us!