The society was in mixed lunch format today and in line with that principle, Bill Alexiou-Hucker and Voula Price (a friend of Bill’s) were our joint chefs of the day. Over 40 attended lunch.

Canapes. Bill started the day off well by leaving one of the prepared canapés in his home fridge. However, it is very “freezeable” and we will say see it later in the year. First off was hummus topped with crispy chicken skin on a crisp bread. The chicken skin really set off the flavour of this starter. Next up was a simple but tasty fallback of grated Parmesan on bread pieces tasted in the oven. An excellent compromise

Soup. But wait, there’s more. Before our main was served. We were presented with a vegetable soup with crushed chicken skin on top. There were many guesses around the room as to the vegetables, but this tasty liquid was actually choko, a much-disliked vegetable by many as it brought back unpleasant memories of childhood food. In this case, the soup was beautifully tasty.

Main course. The main was Voula’s recipe where we each had an individual spatchcock that had been stuffed with a range of herbs and rice. A substantial plate of food. The stuffing set off this dish and it was a great success. The chickens have been poached in stock and wine, and then basted with butter and herbs to give the skin of the chicken a beautiful brown toasted appearance. This was served with carrots and broccoli with a sauce of the reduced stock.

Cheese. James Healey was back from his overseas travels and presented a Taleggio which hails from the Lombardi region in Italy. This sticky, runny cheese with a smell that goes into the next room was in excellent condition with all the flavour you would expect of an aged example. The cheese was served with honeyed mandarins and ouzo infused Turkish delights.

Coffee. Today was coffee, coffee and tea. Specifically, the plunger coffee was Brazilian AA, always good but Spencer had a special treat hand making small cups of Turkish coffee (think strong and thick) for those interested. Finishing up was a plunger of English Breakfast tea for those who avoid coffee. A great mix.

Wines. Graham Gardener selected and presented the wines today.

Aperitif.

An unusual start to the meal, in terms of wine with a Prosecco. Not your everyday Prosecco this Ca’ dei Zago Col Fondo was a slightly sparkling example made mainly from the Glera grape and was bottled under cork. Certainly not a budget wine and was not particularly well liked. It was very dry and lacked any fruit overtones. It may work with certain types of food on a warm day, but most did not like this wine.

Shaw & Smith M3 Chardonnay 2014

Showing classic peach overtone with good acidity, a very good Australian Chardonnay from Lenswood.

Curly Flat Pinot Noir 2015

The most striking initial feature of this wine was its very light colour but with just a touch of brown on the meniscus. Not for those who like their Pinots heavier, but it was very elegant and I thought a good Australian example.

Tyrrells Steven Shiraz 2009

This Hunter Valley Shiraz was a typical example of high-quality Shiraz and a classic Hunter. It had a little bit of spiciness and was very refined. It was the wine of the day for some.

Wynns Black Label 2009

Another 2009 Australian wine which bore no resemblance to the Tyrrells Steven. Still, a substantial wine at 10 years although drinking comfortably and confirms yet again what Wynns do well with their Black Labels year after year. It was still packing a bit of tannin and will last for years.

Having Greeks cooking for us we, of course, finished with Mastiha liqueur.

A splendid lunch.