Unfortunately, the nominated Chef of the Day had to withdraw at short notice, but fortunately, his “to be” assistant, Steve Liebeskind, put his hand up to cook in his place. Steve pulled in a favour from Paul Irwin who was his assistant on the day.

Canapes

Not to be put off by such short notice, the guys turned on three canapés.

The first was veal and pork terrine served on sourdough, topped with an onion relish. Then a beetroot relish topped with goats’ cheese in a pastry shell. This was followed by chicken liver pate with a Cornish on bread rounds.

The presentation was very exact and the comments from members complimentary.

Aperitif wine

Ignoring a few odd bottles thrown in, the aperitif wine today was the Coldstream Hills Chardonnay 2013. This relatively lightly oaked Chardonnay at 6 years of age was drinking well and unless you are a person who likes to see drying fruit (and there are a few), this wine is drinking at its peak and was quite enjoyable. The fruit was still definable and this wine under screwcap confirmed why the label is always reliable.

Main course

The main today was delightfully simple but as always, the execution was not a simple as it seemed. Steve is one of our Society’s top chefs and reasserted that at this lunch. Look at the image of the main course. The eye fillet at (sourced from three providers) at first glance looked like it had been cooked by sou vide. However, we were told this is not the case. There did not appear to be much variation around my table and the doneness was perfection.

To accompany the beef were orange and purple heirloom carrots, mushrooms with sweet soy and zucchinis lightly roasted with a tarragon sprinkling. The real treat was the jus. Steve roasted about 8 kg of bones then added wine and reduced the stock. It was a show stealer and every bit of bread on every table was used to soak it up.

The wines

Lowe Mudgee Blue Shiraz Cabernet 2011 (screwcap)

Some age evident to the eye. Drinking well with clean Australian style sweeter fruit with some tannin. No need for further ageing

Burton Reserve McLaren Vale Shiraz 2002 (cork)

We have enjoyed this wine over the years, but our bottle was showing its age with significant browning. A soft fruit palate but the fruit is faded. Its time has come.

Shiraz by Farr 2011 (cork)

A lighter style but the 4% Viognier made it sweet and to me, unpleasant. The Shiraz may have been excellent without the need to “Northern Rhone” it.

Nick O’Leary Canberra District Shiraz 2009 (screwcap)

The pick of the bunch to me. Clean and bright, in excellent condition. Not complex but a joy to drink.

Cheese and coffee

James Healey remained in the UK this week with Durras cows’ cheese from Cork. The Durras is a semi-soft washed rind, and some found it a little bland. It did lack some flavour, but opinions differed.

Spencer again served us the “Ferrier Blend” hand-mixed by the man himself. It was 80% Indonesian Blue and 20% New Guinea Pearl. Again, well liked.