Food review by James Tinslay

On the pans today we had Charles ‘Chilly’ Hargrave our Society Winemaster. Chilly was assisted by James Hill. Whilst an experienced cook it was Chilly’s first foray into cooking for a Society lunch

Entree

As a starter, we had a magnificent looking terrine, thinly sliced on the plate. The protein in the terrine was pork neck, pork belly and bacon. The three different pieces of meat gave a somewhat complex look to the terrine with the effect of the sliced pistachio adding to its visual appeal. As well as pistachio, the terrine included allspice and chermoula and the meat had been marinated in brandy and muscat. The terrine was simply served with cucumber, rocket and cornichons.

The comments were very positive, with some feeling that some moisture such as mustard or dressing would have worked very well.

Main course

The main was again beautifully presented with the core being stuffed chicken thigh wrapped in prosciutto baked and stuffed with garlic, basil, mozzarella. The chicken held together remarkably well with the assistance of the prosciutto. As interesting as the chicken was the mushroom risotto cake. The hearty flavour of the risotto was mainly the influence of porcini mushrooms soaked in chicken stock. An excellent accompaniment that could have been served as a main on its own, given its flavour. The vegetables on the plate were in-season asparagus and lightly roasted baby tomatoes. A wonderful main course.

Cheese

The cheese today had been requested by Chilly and was presented by James Hill. It was a Marilla washed rind, semi-soft cheese aged to approximately 6 weeks before its release. Inspired by the Irish cheese, Gubbeen, this beautiful cheese is a product of the single herd on the pristine micro-dairy in Kiama on the south coast of NSW. The cheese has a beautiful vibrant rind with a lovely tangerine to pink hue and a soft buttery interior which develops a rich nutty and slightly mushroomy profile as it ripens. The wheels are approximately 1.7 - 1.9kg.

Some tried to unravel the identity of the cheese and Taleggio was a popular choice. However, the Australian source of this beautifully soft cheese evaded the best of us.

The cheese was accompanied by pear, verdicchio and other salad components.

Coffee

Coffee today was sourced and presented by Nick Reynolds. The single-origin coffee from ONA goes by the enticing name of Honduras Mogola, Supernatural. Who knew there was supernatural coffee!! This natural Catuai from Mogola, Honduras has a wide range of tasting notes. Aromas of dark plum and rich red wine are accompanied by cherry, pomegranate, hazelnut-like notes and a spiced rum quality on the finish. Nick has upped the dosage of recent weeks to give the servings a bit more power and intensity.

This being our Chef of The Day’s first lunch for the Society, he was presented with a WFS NSW apron and congratulated by our President, Nick Reynolds.

An excellent lunch and our Foodmaster will not miss including Chilly on the cooking schedule for 2021.

Wine (more to come)

Ray Healey generously donated a 1971 Chateau Ausone, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru. Once again, older wines divide an audience with some feeling that the fruit and departed whilst others appreciated the almost 50-year-old premium Right Bank Bordeaux.