There was no shortage of experience in the kitchen this week with Peter Manners and Neil Galbraith presenting us the goods. They were supported on canapés and wine drinking by Tony Scott and Bob Swinney. These guys are a great advertisement for the Society showing is never too late to be a Chef of the Day.

Canapés. We had a bit of a treat today with a duck consomme start made from the pan drippings and flavour of the duck cooked for the main. And, we had three canapés, the first being some duck pate on crisp bread rounds followed by anchovy and cream cheese on blinis and finally mushroom palmiers (also known as pig's ear or elephant ear). The palmiers were the hit of the canapés and a new experience for many. Beautifully rich mushroom rolled in pastry and devoured in seconds.

Aperitif wine. We began the lunch wine wise with the Bellarmine Chardonnay 2010 from Pemberton in Western Australia. A small amount of the wine sees new French oak but despite the minor influence the Chardonnay was quite rich with stonefruit overlays. Over the past year there has been a noticeable uptake of those appreciating Sherry with the aperitif’s. Today we had the Lustau Amontillado and the La Goya Manzanilla

Main course. Duck glorious duck. The theme today was duck a l’orange and it was beautifully cooked and presented (see the photograph below). Peter manners sourced the duck from Thirlmere but not without a little trouble. The owner said something to the effect I’m 72 years old and I can’t be bothered doing this to which Peter replied he was 93 and cooking. He got the duck! The duck was served with a glaze and a very innovative pastry duck figurine settled on the top. Carrots and orange pieces were decorated around the edge of the plate. Looked and tasted fantastic.

The Wines.

• Wynns C/W White Label Shiraz 2007 (screwcap, 13.5%)
• Medhurst Pinot 2010 (screwcap, 12.6%)
• Glandore TPR Tempranillo 2011 (screwcap, 13.9%)
• Montgomery Hill Chardonnay 2010 (screwcap, 12%)

The duck was served with the Medhurst Pinot Noir and the Wynns Shiraz. It. The Pinot was very elegant and was the more favoured with the duck. A marriage made in heaven was a comment by a member. The Wynns 2007 Shiraz was in great condition and whilst simple just confirmed the value for money that this wine has been and still represents.

The Glandore Tempranillo was a robust wine with oak evident. Drinking well at 6 years of age it probably says more about the Hunter than it does about the Spanish grape. The Chardonnay was the second Western Australia Chardonnay of the day coming from Albany. Most thought that this was the better of the two is an at 7 years of age had started to show some real character. Again, a powerful wine.

Cheese and coffee. James Healey provided us today with Tarago River Cheese Company Shadows of Blue. Most of the comments and guesses around the room centred on French and it was an exercise in how well Australian cheese is progressing.

Spencer Ferrier had us back to a commercial blend today with a Nero Espresso from the Byron Bay Coffee Company. The presentation and packaging of the coffee was excellent and it garnered a very good reception from the room. The coffee was 100% of Arabica and is available through coffee retailers and commercial food outlets.

Peter Manners thanked the kitchen for their assistance today and in the past. The President informed members that the catering arrangements at the Royal Exchange of Sydney would be changing in the coming week and we would have a totally new crew in for the next lunch on 22 August after skipping a week due to minor renovations in the dining room and kitchen.