Food review by James Hill and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran

Food

2022 Chef of the Year Bernard Leung was in the kitchen producing a Cantonese feast for us today.  He was assisted by his friend Carly Lloyd.

Canapés

Bountiful canapés today, we started with

• Silken tofu & century egg with a soy, green onion dressing.
• Then slow soy braised beef shin with fragrant chilli oil.
• Pork dim sum served with two chilli dipping sauces - one hot, the other sweet.

Main

A feast it was. On the plate we had pork belly with five spice, honey soy chicken wings, bok choy and rice. The crispiest crackling ever and moist sticky chicken wings, a treat!  All perfectly cooked, authentic and robust flavours. On the side were roasted peanuts, along with some mama sauce - a crispy chilli that remains crispy even when drenched with hot oil in the cooking process.  A lot more textural than heat, and adds a umami depth of flavour to the dish. Many comments of praise for the high quality of the canapés and main course presented today.

Sourdough bread was sourced from Bakers Delight.

Cheese

Our Cheesemaster Mark Bradford presented an Australian cow’s milk white mould cheese for us today, ‘Petit Fleuri’. Handcrafted double cream brie from organic milk with added cream.  Originally from the French Alps, Matthieu Megard values the importance of ‘terroir’ in the cheese making process to reflect the local environment and selects the finest organic milk from family-owned dairies in the South West of Victoria. The rich yellow coloured interior matures to a soft, buttery texture with a mild, creamy flavour, notes of mushroom and delicate hints of garlic chives. A good match for our meal theme today, and came to the table in good condition.

To accompany the cheese, Bernard assembled a wombok and noodle salad, ‘Changs noodle’ with sliced wombok, crispy noodles, some almonds, dressed with vinegar, sugar and sesame oil. Loved the flavours and textures of this salad, a perfect match for the cheese.

Coffee today was supplied by Garage Roasters of Croydon - a friend of Bernard’s who roasts his own beans. Please check him out (www.garageroasters.com.au).

Wine

For the lovely canapes, we were presented with a very enjoyable Spanish white wine, a 2022 Serra Barcelo, White Grenache @ 14 %. I really liked this wine, fresh, well-balanced and easy to drink with the canapes, really nice fruit, very flavoursome with sufficient acid to ensure a crisp, clean finish. Before I tasted the wine, I feared that it might taste like one of those southern Rhone Whites we have occasionally. I really do not like that trio of Roussanne, Viognier and Marsanne, far too oily and unctuous for my palate. Anyhow, as it unfolded, this Spanish white was quite different and in my view a winner. Let's hope our Winemaster can source some more!

Wine 1 on the list was a 2018 Tyrrells Stevens Sem, @ 10.5% an 8/10 year in the Hunter for Sem. Very light structure. Pale greenish/yellow colour approaching almost no colour at all. On the palate, taut and controlled, not giving much away. Some very restrained Hunter Sem flavours of grass and green apple. Lots of acid still, even at 7 yo, this wine has been made for the hills and will become a classic in 5 to 10 years. Would love to see it then. 

Wine 2 on the list was my wine of the day, the Tyrrells 2015 Belford Chardonnay @ 13 %. A multi-award winner through the wine shows, with good reason. This wine was now well developed as a 10 yo showing light golden yellow colour. Lovely chardonnay flavours of honey, nut and buttery overtones. Rich and elegant, oak, acid and excellent fruit delivering a masterclass in how good an Australian Chardonnay can be.  I would love to think we have more in the cellar.

Wine 3 on the list was the 2013 Craiglee Shiraz @ 13.5% from the Sunbury region of Vic. A cool climate vineyard producing powerful but elegant wines. This wine is now 12 yo and is drinking well. Spicy, dark fruit and subtle oak combine with fine tannins to deliver a mature, developed wine that drinks well, but maybe a year or two past its prime, with a little acid fall away noticeable.

That brings us to the end of the wines that we all tasted. The party continued with different wines being provided to each table.