Food review by James Tinslay and wine review by Chilly Hargrave

The cook-off caravan moves on, and this week it was Denis Redfern for cook-off 4. Supporting him was Team Redfern made up of his wife Trish Redfern, Jennifer Darin and Josef Condrau. Numbers for the lunch went up and down like a yoyo with walk-ins, cancellations and every combination thereof. When we sat down, we were some 45 members.

Canapés

Denis is nothing if not organised and he had telegraphed beforehand that there would be four canapés for us. These were:

• • Escargots a la bourguignonne on brioche
• • Duck rillettes on toasts
• • Potage parmentier in shot glasses
• • Coquilles St Jacques on a spoon

There appears to be a growing trend of members being spoilt with three or four canapés before we sit down, and I have not heard any complaints.

All four canapés were appealing and satisfying. In particular, the duck rillette was special. The duck had been sous vide and then combined with orange and Hennessey XO to give it more depth of flavour.

Main Course

The main course was of course duck. Dennis had brined the ducks with a mixture including orange and then sous vide them at 65° in a specialist tank i.e. a Bunning's tub. The potatoes, or roasties, had been parboiled and then roasted in ghee and finished at REX in duck fat. To die for. Which reminds me, a defibrillator at REX may not be so silly with so much duck fat recently!

The duck was served on jus and was accompanied by some just cooked and crunchy beans with slivered almonds and some cranberry (I think) jelly. The dish looked good and was scrumptious.

Cheese

Today was a smelly cheese day and James Healey served us Epoisses, sourced from Côte-d'Or, from maker Berthaut. It is a washed rind cheese with a very strong flavour finishing off with some barnyard characteristics that make it, apparently, one of the smelliest cheeses on earth. It was wonderful. The cheese was served with grapes.

Coffee

Spencer Ferrier was absent this week but continued his long walk to find a Society Blend. This week he supplied us with a high roast espresso-style coffee with a flavour note of roast and a slightly burnt flavour. It was a blend of five beans treated in various ways with a major quantity of Kenya AA. The coffee had a very good mouthfeel, medium-bodied, but not overpowering with, as expected, a slightly burnt finish. An excellent coffee.

Wine

Canapé wines were a contrast of styles and colours. A 2010 Montgomery Hill Chardonnay from Margaret River was a complex mix of wild, barrel ferment and bottle age. Still bright and clear, it showed the rich fruit characters typical of the region. It was paired with the same vintage of a Coldstream Hills Pinot Noir. At 10 years of age, it impressed with its drinkability. While the tannins were a little firm, there was still fresh varietal fruit notes on the nose and palate.

To match the duck there were a pair of red Burgundies. A 2015 Christian Clerget Bourgogne Rouge was the preferred wine. It had lively, berry fruit aromas with a complex, well-integrated palate of red fruits and firm tannins. The 2016 Domaine Collotte Marsannay Champsalomon was an interesting move further up the Côte de Nuits towards Dijon. Although Marasannay is little heard of, it is starting to be considered further as the climate warms and these cooler vineyards achieve better maturity. The wine had lovely berry fruit characters with soft tannins and genuine Burgundian texture. Perhaps not as pure as the village wine from Clerget, it still impressed.

The cheese for the day was a burgundy favourite - Époisses. Traditionally this is paired with a Pinot Noir, but today we also tried something different. Taking a leaf from the Alsace playbook we had a 2012 Gewurztraminer from Hugel. Locally this is often matched with Munster. With its slight sweetness and spicy fruit notes, the wine was an excellent match. The more traditional 2015 Pinot Noir from Greywacke was another good match with its strawberry fruit and soft tannins.