Our Purpose
“To bring together and serve all who believe that a right understanding of good food and wine is an essential part of personal contentment and health, and that an intelligent approach to the pleasures and problems of the table offers far greater rewards than the mere satisfaction of appetite.”
The Wine & Food Society NSW is one of the oldest and most renowned gastronomic societies. The Society’s mission is the promotion of a broad knowledge and understanding of both wine and food, the enhancement of their appreciation, and the nurturing of camaraderie among those who share the pleasures of the table.
The Society thrives today, more than 75 years after its founding, with over 140 members.
The primary objective of the Society is to encourage and facilitate the association of people interested in fine wine and food. To this end, the Society holds numerous luncheons and evening functions for members and their guests. Functions are directed towards the attainment of a high level of understanding and appreciation of the preparation and presentation of food and wine and their relationship to each other. A feature of the Society’s activities is the Tuesday luncheon, held most Tuesdays throughout the year, when different members “Chefs of the Day” prepare the meal for other members and guests. These luncheons are held at The Royal Exchange 1 Gresham Street, Sydney. The Society is the largest of the Federation of Wine and Food Societies in Australia.
Our History
Est. 1939
Victorian winemaker, David Sutherland Smith, of All Saints Vineyard, introduced the idea of Wine and Food Societies to Australia, founding a group in Melbourne. Following his example, The Wine and Food Society NSW was launched in the Rhine Castle Cellars on 9 March 1939, with the inaugural dinner held at the University Club in Phillip Street on July 13 of that year.
A history of the Society, written in 1993 by John Glascott, chronicles its founding and early days. Johnnie Walker’s Rhine Castle Cellars was located in the basement of the now-demolished Royal Exchange building on the corner of Pitt and Bridge Streets. Walker was a wine merchant and his cellars had for some time been the haunt of French wool-buyers attending auctions in the building above. Informal wine and cheese gatherings took place weekly, catered for by a French couple Jeanne and Henri Renault.
The founding members of the Society were J.K. (Johnnie) Walker, Dr Gilbert Phillips, Maurice O’Shea, Henri Renault and Gilbert Graham. Food was generally prepared at the Renaults’ home and brought to the Cellars, although the group did also venture out to hotels and restaurants. Within two years, however, the membership had grown to 30 and the Tuesday lunches took place in larger premises – first Aaron’s Hotel and later Marton Hall Restaurant. It was not unknown for lunches to stretch through the afternoon, finishing at around 5.30.
During the war years, the Wine and Food Society NSW found a new headquarters: its own restaurant. The Hermitage was opened in 1942 and remained the base for the Society for 16 years. Then, as now, the lunches were an exclusively male affair. As a concession, a “Ladies’ Night” was held every second month.
The Hermitage closed in 1957 and the Society moved to the Chevron Hotel in Potts Point, later relocating to the Australia Hotel. Although its primary purpose had initially been wine appreciation, food assumed increasing importance and a Foodmaster was appointed to consult with chefs about the menu.
By 1971 the Society had its own headquarters in the Australian-American Association building and the members began to take it in turns to cook for the luncheons. In a return to the Society’s roots, the members now meet at The Royal Exchange, Gresham Street, in a new building that replaced the original sandstone one that housed Johnnie Walker’s cellars. The tradition of members doing the cooking continues.