The Society’s never-ending chef, James Hill, was back in the kitchen today with a tricky dish for this mixed luncheon with our better halves. He was assisted by his sage Jenny Dowling and Nick Reynolds and we had some 50 seated to enjoy the day.

Canapés. We had a range of canapés from James today, the first two involving celeriac with olives and then with fried chorizo. Both of those toppings were tasty, especially the chorizo which had indeed been to a good school. The third canapé was tuna and butter served on a simple crisp bread covered with dill. This was delightful and in no way overpowered by fish.

Aperitif wine. Firstly, most of the wines today were supplied by Tony Scott as a generous donation to this lunch, the second time he has done this kind act in the past year. Thank you, Tony. A range of starters today, including the Aubert Rose NV Champagne and a crisp, Bordeaux from Cote de Bordeaux, Chateau de Haux 2016. The Champagne we have had on several occasions, but the Bordeaux sec was interesting (and unusual) in that it was 60% Sauvignon Gris and 40% Sauvignon Blanc. A more than pleasant wine. Of course, there was Sherry, on this occasion a Gonzalez Byass 12-year-old Amontillado in excellent condition and much liked.

Main Course. Another overcast and potentially rainy day in Sydney was made brighter by James’s is duck pie. James made a duck ragu and then extracted the moisture for the filling for the pie. The presentation on the plate was stunning with a beautifully brown and textured pastry forcing you to look at it as opposed to talking with your companions. The pie was circular (seriously, not all are!) and it was set on a circular pea purée with crème fraiche which included parmesan and dried nuts. The pie itself had field mushrooms and dried porcini and there was a singular radish, which may or may not have been cooked in stock and butter.

The presentation was stunning (look at the picture, imagine an old sun with red planet revolving around it) as was the flavour and texture of the dish. Of course, James provided us Iggy’s bread, Sydney’s best bread.

The Wines.

• Clos Alivu Patrimonio (aka Sangiovese) (Corsica) 2015 (13%)
• Chateau Puy-Servain 2014 (14%)
• Chateau Belingard Monbazillac 2013 (12.5%)

We had two wines with the main. The first was Nielluccio from Corsica which, while French, is known in Italy as Sangiovese. Corsican wines are a rarity at Society lunches. This wine had a quite spicy and savoury nose that you would expect of a Sangiovese. The second wine with the main was varied across all six tables from Morgon to a Sangiovese from Mudgee.

With the cheese we served a white and a red. The Chateau Puy-Servain from Bergerac was predominately Merlot with a lesser portion of Cabernet. Quite tannic at this age and tasted a bit like a right bank Bordeaux. The sweetie of the day was the Château Belingard Monbazillac which is the lesser region after Sauternes, but still makes wonderful sweet desert style wines. True to script this was Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle. The sweetness cut through piquant style of the blue fromage.

Cheese and coffee. Cheese today from our acting Cheesemaster Gary Linnane was Cantorel Bleu Dauvergne from Auvergne, France. It was very creamy, and salt was evident. To quote our suppliers “A natural rind cheese with a minimum four-week affinage, the pate is soft whilst also being slightly crumbly. The flavour is creamy, contains the spice of the blue moulds and has a salty, tart finish on the palate. This is a well-balanced blue”.

The cheese was served with some wonderfully fresh Medjool dates.

Coffee from Spencer Ferrier today was a combination of the Ethiopian Yirgacheffe with some Indonesian and New Guinea beans. Spencer has been trying to replicate espresso coffee via plunger and has tried many different styles recently. This exploration came to an end today. Thank you for the education Mr Ferrier.

James Hill, whilst addressing the lunch thanked Leo in the kitchen for his masterful assistance and thanked Tony Scott for his contribution with the wine for today’s lunch.

A lunch with fine food, wine but most importantly, spirit.