Lunch today saw Gary Linnane in the kitchen assisted by James Hill. It was good to see good numbers at lunch after a very successful chef of the year dinner the previous Saturday evening.

Canapés. In no particular order, we started off with rabbit terrine (sourced from Victor Churchill) on Iggy’s bread. The rabbit terrine was nothing short of fantastic with its flavour and the high fat content, making tasty but not potentially healthy to enjoy. Then came rollmops on pumpernickel. Not tasted by myself but I understand they were much enjoyed with the rollmops source from Cutler and Co in Melbourne. An excellent start.

Aperitif wine. The aperitif wine was a Ronco Sot Lis Rivis Pinot Grigio from the Sot Lis Rivis region of Italy. It is an aromatic wine of relatively high alcohol, aged in used oak barrels. It’s full nature also makes it suitable for food but it must be said that some spoke against the wine. However, many liked it.

Main course. The tomato-based osso buco was excellent. Served on the bone it was beautifully succulent and was served on mash with gremolata and Dutch carrots. Many enjoyed the richness of the bone marrow, which was keenly removed. Once again Gary went to Elizabeth David for this recipe and he noted that the high-quality veal that she would have used is almost impossible to acquire today. The main was much enjoyed.

The wines.

• Poggio al Tesora Mediterra 2010 (cork, 14%)
• Allegrini Palazzo Della Torre 2011 (cork, 13.5%)
• Tintilla Sangiovese 2014 (screwcap, 14.0%)
• Scorpo Chardonnay 2012 (screwcap, 13.5%)

A pair of Italian wines to start. The Tuscan wine from Bolgheri was an IGT being a blend of Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet. Rich at 7 years old but an excellent wine with good length and very evidently not Sangiovese based. The Allegrini wine was a typical Valpolicella but also an IGT. The fruit richness of the Corvina put the wine clearly in its home region. Surprisingly there was a degree of similarity between the two with the former having more new world richness and tannins.

A red and a white with the cheese. The Sangiovese was clearly a long way from home. It had some elegance, but at 2014 was too young and it was rich in the Australian style, none of the savoury characteristics that you would expect from a Tuscan wine. The Scorpo was a lovely wine. It had a very solid grip and had a richness that one would expect was borrowed from Burgundy. Many thought it was the better match with the cheese.

Cheese and coffee. The cheese presented by James Healey today was a Rouzaire de Meaux, a pasteurised cow’s milk fromage from you Ile de France. The packaging and presentation was stunning and you can see it in the photographs above. Interestingly the cheese is pasteurised for the Australian and US market, but it did not detract which had a beautiful sweet smell and was velvety on the palate. It would have been interesting to have tasted unpasteurised version.

The coffee from Spencer Ferrier was a commercial presentation but sourced from the White Horse Company in Sutherland just south of Sydney. The blend is El Troje and hails from Columbia. Spencer tried this coffee at the café and found it to be slightly weak but the dosing today meant that we had a stronger flavour that was enjoyed across our table.

The President, Keith Steele, in closing the lunch confirmed to those who had not been present on Saturday evening that the Chef of The Year was a joint award to Steve Liebeskind and Graham Fear and the Alexiou seafood chef of the year was, wait for it, Steve Liebeskind. He congratulated them both and closed the lunch.