There was certainly no trullfling for experience today with John Rourke in the kitchen assisted by Terry McDowell, both long-term and experienced cooks. John was very generous agreeing to blow out the numbers from the normal maximum of 48 to some 54 attendees.

Canapés. John and Terry concentrated on one canapé for us today which were French snails in a pastry case. Th pastry case had been kept beautifully dried and was crispy to the bite. The large French nails came from a can and had been sautéed in butter, shallots, garlic and red wine. A beautiful canapé and a step up from the escargot that one often gets in a so-called French brasserie.

Aperitif wine. Paul Ferman put on the Aubert NV Rose Champagne which, whilst an entry-level Champagne, was a decent enough match for the canapé. There was somewhat of a thirst for Sherry on the day with multiple bottles of the Tio Pepe Fino being consumed. Over the past few years Sherry consumption has been on the increase in the Society and it is a tribute to our members that we are swimming against the trend in Australian society. Ray Kidd always has a special smile on his face when you are pouring him a Sherry.

Main Course. The much awaited Rourky main event was worth the expectation. The photographs, above, tell you why. John had organised his butcher to deboned six ducks which were stuffed with ground chicken and sous vide the for two hours. The flavour of the product of this work matched with the orange sauce was a delight. The protein was accompanied by duck fat potatoes (say no more) and accompanied by tiny capsicums from Peru and Brazil served on a salad shell as were mushrooms. Apparently, Leo, our resident REX chef from Brazil, was very familiar with these delicate vegetables. A very successful main event.

The Wines.

• Moss Wood Pinot Noir 2012 (screw cap, 14%)
• Yabby Lake Single Vineyard Pinot Noir 2010 (screw cap, 14%)
• Freycinet Pinot Noir 2012 (screw cap, 14%)
• Dom. Du Pavillon Aloxe Corton 1er Maruchudes 2005 (cork, 13%)
• Dom. Du Pavillon Clos du Maruchudes Corton Grand Cru 2005 (cork, 13.5%)
• Gaja Pieve Santa Restituta Brunello di Montalcino 2006 (cork, 14%)

The first trio of wines for this tasting lunch were Australian Pinot’s. The Moss Wood wine was an eye-opener for many who did not realise that Moss Wood sourced fruit from the Mornington Peninsula. Whilst all three wines had the typical sweetness associated with Australian Pinot Noir’s the Moss Wood was also accompanied by a fair degree of tannin and the wine still has some time to go. The Yabby Lake had a couple of years on the previous wine and was drier and leaner and for many was the favourite of many on the day. The Tasmanian Pinot was lighter and whilst like by a number of attendees, sweetness was very noticeable. My least wine but all three were well made quality Australian Pinot’s.

The rubber hit the road with the next trIo. There was not a lot separating the Premier Cru from the Grand Cru with one technicality being an extra 0.5% on the alcohol level of the latter. Both wines had substantial body with drying tannins as you would expect from quality Burgundies. The Grand Cru had a touch more sweetness and more power. Both wines left me wondering about their future. Given the substantial price of Burgundy in the world market (and particularly Australia) it was a treat to have these served at our Society. The final wine was a Brunello di Montalcino from 2006. Potentially biased, this was my wine of the day, savoury and powerful with savoury herb characteristics typical of Sangiovese. The dryness and structure were almost reminiscent of a Piedmont style Langhe wine based on Nebbiolo. An excellent group of wines.

Cheese and coffee. Our acting Cheesemaster, Gary Linnane, served Saint Secret Buche en Cloche, a traditional log shaped white mould cheese from goats milk. This had a rich creamy flavour and was extraordinarily smooth. We rarely get poor cheeses and this was a delight.

Spencer Ferrier (in absentia) again provided us with the Mexican peaberry bean on the basis that it would be some time before fresh beans were again available in Australia. A more acidic flavour with this bean but sweet on the palate.

Accompanying the cheese were walnuts and honey and is a special treat, strawberries frozen with a sugar coating in the French style.

John Rourke is one of a group of very special cooks who make mere mortals like me realise I have a long way to go to reach standards he sets. Excellent work John and Terry.