Food review by Steve Sparkes

Well, what a wonderful lunch presented by our current COTY, Bernard Leung with assistance in the kitchen from Steve Liebeskind.

The President, Treasurer, Wine Master, Food Master, Cheese Master, Membership Recorder, our wonderful Centenarian Peter Manners, Roger Straiton and Ken Woolford along with the COTD hosted a dozen guests who all enjoyed a most excellent lunch which presented much more as a Dinner Party of the highest quality rather than our ‘standard’ lunch.

The food, from the first to last mouthfuls, was simply superb and accompanied by terrific wines that were masterfully matched to each course.

Steve Libeskind started us off with a delicious and innovative selection of canapes including:

• Pork and veal terrine - with the inclusion of pistachios, red capsicum and Dijon mustard. The terrine served on puff pastry, was topped with beetroot chutney.
• Fennel puree on puff pastry round - crowned with raw salmon and a fennel frond.
• Salmon ceviche using Asian flavours - served on spoons featuring diced salmon, coriander, red onion, red capsicum, fish sauce, lime juice and chilli.

They were served in the above order and were absolutely delicious with one flavour profile building beautifully to the next. The ceviche was a perfect palate cleanser before the main.

And what a main it was and a great reminder, to those of us lucky enough to enjoy the dish, as to just why Bernard is the current COTY.

The dish presented was titled ‘Salmon on a Pea Broth’.

The pea Bbroth was based on Heston Blumenthal’s ham and pea soup using ham, onion, and carrots to create a stock. This was then blitzed with raw peas and passed through a fine chinois.

The salmon itself was cooked sous vide at 50⁰C for an hour. The skin had been removed by pouring boiling water over it and peeling off after about 5 to 10 seconds.

The skin was then baked with salt and pepper at 180⁰C for 30 mins which resulted in a fabulous crispy skin that was used as a garnish.

The salmon was centred on a circle of broth and topped with a garnish of thinly shaved fennel, red onion and orange salad along with the crispy skin. Peas, ham and basil oil were used sparingly to finish the dish.

Not only did it look good, the flavours were superb. The salmon cooked to perfection, silky smooth pea broth and a delightfully fresh salad to balance the richness of the salmon and peas.

Well done Bernard and Steve, I do suspect you may have to do it all again early next year!!

What followed next was both a surprise and delight to all of us. This was in the form of a cheese new to most.

Challerhocker (pronounced ‘Holler Hocker’) is an Artisan Swiss cheese from St Gallen.

Malty and sweet with a spicy finish, Challerhocker is a 21st-century Swiss cheese.

With a change in regulations during the 90s, the Master Appenzeller Cheesemaker, Walter Rass, created a new cheese using rich pure Jersey milk, and a secret blend of wines, herbs and spices.

He aged it for 8 months and named it ‘Challerhocker ‘meaning ‘sitting in a cellar’.

The washed rind produces a robust, tacky rind and contributes to the nutty aroma of the dense white paste.

The cheese was well received by all, I am sure we will see it again and many thanks to our Cheese Master Mark for finding this beauty!

Well done again to all involved, you have set a very high benchmark indeed!