29 October 2019 - CoTD James Tinslay

Wine review is by Chilly Hargrave

The Chef of the Day this week was James Tinslay and in the interests of transparency that would be me. I was assisted by Keith Steele on canapés and in the kitchen and by Gary Linnane with canapés. This, of course, was a wine lunch and Chilly Hargraves presented a wonderful selection of six wines.

NOTE: volunteers to write a review of a lunch are always very welcome.

Canapes

Between Gary and Keith, there were two canapés. From Keith an unusual serve of a small papadum filled with a curry and egg mixture. Simple but very tasty. This is followed by a starter of cornichons on smoked sausage. The sausage was divine and had been sourced by Gary from charcutier Romeo Baudouin.

Main Course

Being a wine lunch the flavours were kept under control with the emphasis on some high-quality free-range chicken thighs skin-on, bone-in that had been browned both sides prior to roasting. The chicken had been baked in a sauce of blood oranges, maple syrup, cranberry and mustard. A good swig of cider vinegar kept any sweetness under control. The chicken was served with duck fat potatoes, baked carrots and asparagus.

Cheese

Cheese today was presented by Gary Linnane and was a Will Studd Comte, one of my very favourites. This was an aged Comte with our portion cut from a 36 kg wheel. It was in excellent shape with medium firmness and wonderful finesse.

Coffee

Spencer was not with us today but he had delivered from Forsyth Coffee House, East Timor coffee. It was medium-bodied with a sweet palate.

Wines

The major aperitif wine today was a 2011 Lindeman’s Semillon. At 8 years of age, it was showing traditional aged Hunter characters. Although still with bright acidity it is nearing its drink now window.

This was followed by an exciting selection of wines for the tasting. A 2014 Tolpuddle Chardonnay was a definitely in its youth. With obvious natural ferment characters, it was supported by well-balanced oak and acidity. It was followed by a pair of 2012 white burgundies. The members were general king in agreement that the third wine was a Chablis while the second came from vineyards further south. The Chablis 1er Cru ‘Fourchaume’ showed the expected whetstone minerality although it was starting to show some evolution. Such a shame that the top end Chablis have cork rather than screw cap. The Vincent Girardin St Aubin 1er Cru ’Les Dents de Chien’ was in good condition with an excellent balance of fruit, oak and acidity. The Girardin wines are made in the bigger style which brought more depth to the St Aubin. As mentioned on the day, St Aubin is tucked in behind the Montrachet vineyard and can offer excellent buying if you choose a vineyard with good aspect.

The bracket of 3 Pinot Noirs was led by a glorious 2012 Phillipe Cheron Vosne Romanée ‘Les Barreaux’. Although not classified the vineyard sits just above the Grand Cru ‘Richbourg’. The wine had lovely, bright, cherry fruit with a great length on the palate. The tannins were still surprisingly firm. A wine that we won’t see for some time as it is still so young. Brilliant. The other burgundy was a 2010 Roche de Bellene Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru ‘Lavaut St Jacques’. A vineyard on the other side of the village to the great Grand Crus, the wine was a beautiful example of a mature burgundy - complex with depth and richness. The tannins were softer than might be expected from the village, but that meant it was a great drink on the day.

Another 2010 wine was the Yabby Lake Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir. It stood up pretty well to the competition from the burgundies of a similar age, but much higher price point. The winemaker (Tom Carson) is a ‘burgundyfile’ and it shows in the complexity and vigour he has been able to extract from the fruit.

As an aside, we opened 16 bottles today that were under cork with no TCA issues. That followed on from 30 Spanish wines under cork with no issues as well. Not sure what that means. Just lucky I think!!!

22 October 2019 - CoTD Antoni Serra, La Despensa

Today we were fortunate to have Antoni Serra, the chef and owner of La Despensa restaurant in Neutral Bay. Nick Reynolds had organised Antoni for this marquee event. Anthony is of course, Spanish, and also has a Spanish wine importing business and the Society had purchased some of these wines to serve with the lunch today. His food is based on that of the Catalunyan city of Barcelona.

Canapes

Antonio presented us with two canapés the could come straight out of a bar in Barcelona. Firstly croqueta de marisco (seafood croqueta) served on a small bed of Romesco sauce followed with a bite of roasted capsicum, eggplant and onion topped with Angelachu anchovies, which are hand filleted premium anchovies from the Cantabrian Sea. What they both had in common was a mouthful flavour. They lasted on the serving plates for a very short period. The anchovies were not over salted and had a medium-bodied intensity that did not overpower the other ingredients on the spoon.

Main Course

One of our favourite proteins, lamb, was served as the main. In this case, braised lamb shoulder wrapped in brik pastry served on a bed of eggplant hummus with almonds, sesame seeds and smoked paprika dukkah. This was accompanied by oven-roasted vegetables. The lamb had been slow-cooked then shredded and shaped to oblong blocks around which the brik pastry was wrapped. Very flavoursome however, some would have liked a little more moisture in the meat. The presentation was most engaging.

Cheese

Most would have assumed that with the focus on Spain that we would have had a Spanish cheese but they were wrong. The holidaying James Healey had selected the cheese and it was presented by Gary Linnane who explained that the French cheese was Jean Faup chevre which came to us in a 4 kg wheel. The goat’s cheese had been pasteurised and hails from the Pyrenees region. This semi-hard cheese was a real hit with its pungent nose and medium bodied, distinctive goat cheese flavour.

Coffee

Spencer was not with us today but had delivered one of the favourite coffees of the Society, Colombia, as supplied by Forsyth coffee. It had its usual full flavour but I felt the dosing was a little short and as I was the doser, I know where to lay the blame.

Wines

Antoni imports a range of Catalunya wines, a few of which we tasted on the day.

With the canapés, we had a white and a rosé. The former (Bouquet d’Allela 2018) was an interesting blend of Pansa Blanca (Xarel-lo) and Garnatxa Blanca (White Grenache). Xarel-lo is widely planted in the Penedes and most commonly used in Cava, while White Grenache is common to many Mediterranean vineyards. The wine showed a bright colour with complex fruit aromas. The palate was textural with a savoury, phenolic finish. The rosé from Espelt was another fresh 2018 wine, this time from Grenache, with attractive pink hues and fresh fruit. The palate was full of red fruits, again with a savoury dry finish.

Another of Antoni’s wines was the Clos Galena Priorat 2015. A blend of Carignan, Grenache and Syrah it was still young with fresh, spicey fruits. The same fruit profile carried to the palate finishing with firm tannins. Still a young wine. This was matched with another Priorat from Torres. The Salmos 2011 was a similar blend, but on this occasion with the Grenache as the dominant component. Showing more evolved complex aromas, it still finished with the expected drying tannins,

With the cheese, we travelled to the south and the west.  The La Purisma Trapio Monastrell 2008 from Yecla (Alicante) still showed fresh, spicey, peppery fruit. These characters carried on to the palate, balanced with the still firm Mouvèdre tannins. From Rioja, we had a Gabaxo 2013 from Olivier Rivière - a Frenchman who jumped the border into Spain. A mix of Tempranillo and Grenache it is his attempt at a Rhône style blend. Softer and fruitier than we might expect from Rioja, it nevertheless had length and depth. A good match for the cheese.

An excellent lunch with some torrid debate about the honesty or otherwise of member commentary on wine and food.

Those who may be interested in La Despensa in Neutral Bay it is a simple Google search away and Antoni’s Spanish wines can be found at vinicolawines.com.au. A wonderful lunch.

15 October 2019 - CoTD Nigel Burton (more to come)

Thanks to Steve Liebeskind for food review.

52 people ascended on the Society to sample the fine cooking of Nigel Burton who emphasised the importance of pairing flavours and characteristics of food and wine.

Today the Society was presented with a lunch built around the marriage of food and wine with “do we complement wine and food and if so, how is this achieved”.

Canapes

Today we started with three canapes all prepared by our Company Secretary Hilton Chapman. Normally this high standard eloquent wine reviewer stays out of the kitchen, today Nigel enticed him to go somewhere different. With that message, Hilton succeeded with great result.

1. Smoked salmon on blini. Simple yet tasty. Hilton cooked his blinis from scratch – not Coles/Woolworth bought - we were given very light and thin blini’s, a labour of love. The blinis were accompanied with horseradish cream, a slice of smoked salmon and topped with grated finger limes from Hilton’s garden. Colourful, elegant and very enjoyable.
2. Eggplant on a spoon. This canape was presented with flavour and body. This a delightful combination of smoked eggplant and freshness inclusive of some garlic and a few other herbs and spices. The ‘Baba Ganoush’ was topped with pickled eggplant from a wicked Virgin from Rutherglen.
3. The surprise canape was the third - a Chapman special. Cheese, beef jerky and mint heated and served on sourdough rounds. In case you missed it, Hilton added more cheese, sour cream and the secret ingredient – Gravox. This was a hardy canape and rounded off the three starters that were paired with Pinot Noirs from Victoria.

It should be mentioned these canapes went from light to heavy and delicate to finish with tones and flavours that complimented the main and the wine selection for the main/cheese.

Main

The main was rack of lamb with herb crust served with duck fat roast potatoes and baby asparagus. Sounds simple – yes, but it wasn’t. As mentioned, there were 52 attendees and because the lamb was herb-crusted Nigel’s ‘go to’ method of cooking of sous vide had to be replaced with traditional cooking – searing and baking in the oven. This is where the challenge comes about. The lamb was rendered to reduce the fat – a major task when doing 52 prepared (French cut) three-piece cutlets. After rendering, the crust of breadcrumbs, mint, garlic, capsicum and other ingredients were pressed on the lamb and placed in the oven. Even comments about Eucalyptus (a WA wine character) were mentioned. After cooking (and resting), the lamb was placed on the plate with a wonderful portion of baked crisp duck fat potatoes and for added colour, baby green asparagus. With ingredients in the main Nigel ensured we had elements of food that complimented the wines of Cabernet from areas of Coonawarra and Margaret River – well done.

The lamb was cooked perfectly and with the herb crust, we had a fantastic marriage of food and wine. There is nothing better than spring lamb with Cabernet. Add the specific herbs to complement the elements of the wine and Wow we have a winner. The potatoes were to die for and the asparagus (cooked by walking past a hot stove) went very well with the Coonawarra Cabernets. Not all lambs were rendered properly but seriously when doing 50+ the chances of that occurring is low.

Overall the comments from the floor were positive on the meal and the pairing caused people to talk about the wine in detail.

Cheese and salad

Today we had a Will Studd El Esparto Manchego Artesano.

This was a Spanish sheep milk cheese. Many picked this as a Manchego however, there was a slight difference. In fact, this was collected across the PDO region, which meant this farmstead “artesano’ cheese was of rare exception. The natural brown rind contains no artificial colours or mould inhibitors. The cheese is aged for between 6 to 9 months until the ivory-coloured interior develops a distinctive sweet moist nutty finish with a hint of grass and wild shrub.

The Manchego was mature, hard and at times dry. It was enjoyed by all although it was felt this cheese didn’t complement the wine theme of today. Rather a Sherry or possibly a white may have complemented the cheese.

Accompanying the cheese was a vegetarian’s delight. Served to the Society was a fresh bowl of Capsicum (green, red and yellow), finely mandolin red radishes, dried berries and a light vinaigrette.

Nigel also passed around some tobacco to familiarise those who had given up this evil during the 1980s, to reflect as to what it smelled like and what it may smell like when mentioned as an aroma in Cabernet.

There was a piece of what I think was 80% or 90% chocolate for the coffee.

8 October 2019 - CsoTD Denis and Trish Redfern

Thanks to James Hill for the reviews of food and wine.

The room was packed today with sixty plus members booked for our mixed lunch with Chef of the day Denis and Trish Redfern in the kitchen assisted by Jennifer Darren, Dennis Cooper and Josef Condrau. Lunch today also served as a memorial to Pat Healy well known to many members of our society with Pat's close family attending.

Canapés

Canapés were plentiful today with Josef Condrau kicking off with 'escargots Bourgogne' done traditionally by baking in parsley, garlic and butter then served on bread. Great flavour and texture but not overly garlicky so as to kill our wine palate. Josef advised that he initially had some trouble in sourcing the snails but happened to be sitting in a pastry shop called 'C'est si Bon' they overheard his dilemma and voila! they sourced them for him and our pleasure.

Then came duck rillette on crostini with cornichon and radish. The rillette had been sitting in tubs for a week prior to service,2.2 kg of duck flesh yields 1 kg of rillette.

A perfect example of rillette full of flavour, a great mouthfeel without too much overlay of fat.

Traditional French onion soup with brioche croutons followed served in shot cups.

Last canapé a riff on 'coquilles Saint-Jacques'.The scallops were first seared on a hotplate then assembled on a bed of duxelles, with a mushroom, shallot and Lillet cream sauce topped with a panko and parmesan crisp.

Main course

All the canapés were superbly executed as was our main course of confit duck, crispy roast potatoes cooked in duck fat, cabbage and apple, green beans, red currant jelly and duck jus.

The duck was perfectly cooked, initially brined then sous vide, into to oven to warm up and lastly seared by Denis' industrial strength scorch torch.

The flavour and presentation was superb,the duck was moist with the vegetables cooked to perfection.

The attention to detail was noted and praised with many favourable comments about the food from members today.

Cheese

It all came together today with a great example of the Berthaut AOC Espoisses a Burgundian cheese of pasteurised cows milk running across the cheese board as it was served at room temperature. Epoisses is a strong musty wine smelling washed rind cheese. The intense aroma comes about by way of its maturation. The cheese undergoes intense affinage of five weeks which was washed three times a week with Marc de Bourgogne diluted with water,as the cheese matures more and more of the Marc is added to the washing solution. The fine-textured pate melts in the mouth with a mixture of salty, sweet and milky flavours dominating the palate.

Coffee

Spencer sourced some rare Cona coffee from Hawaii a special treat for our lunch today, roasted medium showing acid and long flavour.

Wines

Our Cellar Master assisted by Paul Ferman was kept busy today decanting wines as many of the wines were large format double magnums or magnums. They did a sterling job.

Ray Healey very generously donated wines today and we saved some for a toast to Pat.

Tapanappa Eden Valley 2015 Riesling drinking well on the day reflected the austere granitic soil, floral and dry.

Brokenwood Beechworth Chardonnay 2014 bit fat and overworked, some intensity and depth.

Christian Clerget Bourgogne Rouge 2014, not a complex wine. Cherry notes a little short on the palate.

Domaine Grivot Nuits St Georges 'Les Prulliers' 2006 tannic showing fruit. At peak with traditional Burgundy characters.

Tyrrell's 4 Acre Shiraz 2018 (double Magnum) good tannin, soft, showing fruit, clear and bright.

Tyrrell's Old patch Shiraz 2018 very pure and enjoyable, be good to see how this wine develops. 

Canoblas Smith Pinot Noir 1997 brown, still showing fruit sweetness, delicious for a wine of this age.

Brown's Padthaway Trellis Shiraz 1998 great year, good mouthfeel, bright, good oak balance and acid.

Memories of Pat were shared with Monique Burton mentioning her wide-ranging interests, magnetic energy, warm smile and expressive ways and obvious enjoyment of people and life in general.

Terry Stapleton closed our lunch with a tribute to Pat saying he was first introduced to Pat over 40 years ago at Society mixed functions at which she and Ray were regulars and which included lunches, evening functions, also Society tours of the vineyards in Mudgee, the Hunter, Orange, Griffith. As well over the years Ray and Pat hosted small Society groups wine tastings on occasions at Hunter Hill. Pat was always willing to speak with knowledge about the wine and food.

In 1988 when we ran the Australian Wine and Food Convention (over 100 attended) in Sydney Pat volunteered to join the organising committee and to organise the travel and accommodation offered to Interstate and NZ members and she did a very good job.

A great day for our Society.

1 October 2019 - CoTD Peter Karr

Thanks to Nick Reynolds for the food review.

Today we had a welcome return to the kitchen of former Foodmaster, Peter Karr.

Peter presented us with a very generous meal mostly inspired by his USA heritage.

He presented three different canapes, the first of which was tiny round bell peppers stuffed with chevre.

The second appetiser, which was more Italo-American, was prosciutto on sourdough toast.

The third appetiser was the ubiquitous jalapeno pepper, this time stuffed with goats and cottage cheese and deep-fried. A tasty morsel that was not too spice-hot for the members.

Putting the big into a big meal, Peter presented us with roasted bone marrow sprinkled with garlic chives. A sturdy challenge for a number of our members’ Lipitor dosage. There were some comments that it was a little underdone but the empty bones going back to the kitchen showed that members coped well with it as it was served.

The main meal was chicken breast that had been marinated in garlic, milk, and adobo sauce for two days. It was served with two sauces. The green sauce comprised tomatillos, onion, and chipotle chili sauce. Peter was restrained in the amount of heat that was presented with some expressing relief while others would have preferred slightly more indicating that his selected heat level was therefore close to ideal for the group. The red sauce was roasted and peeled red capsicum. On top of the chicken, Peter presented us with some guacamole as well as a (now not) secret ingredient, Huitlacoche, which is a fungus that grows on ears of corn. Thanks to Wikipedia we can additionally say that it is also known as cuitlacoche, corn smut, and Mexican truffle. Peter sourced this at the famous Sydney USA food store, Fiji Mart.

The flavour combination was interesting although a number of diners found the chicken a bit dry, which is a common problem with chicken breast when served at the Society.

The Cheese that Peter presented was a new type for our members, a washed rind cheese from Aldi. This proved to have a dual purpose of being a cheese to eat and also a form of wine education as Phil Laffer declared that someone appeared to have washed the rind with tap (chlorinated) water, which resulted in the development of the dreaded cork taint, TCA. Members who either scooped out the cheese or cut off the rind were rewarded with a flavoursome, albeit young cheese.

Peter accompanied the cheese with a delicious variant on a Caesar Salad, comprised of cos lettuce, artichoke hearts, anchovies, chevre, mayonnaise, garlic and red onions. A hearty salad to go with the piquant cheese.

We look forward to Peter returning to the kitchen, possibly with a prior reminder to make sure that we have prophylactic anti-cholesterol medication.

The coffee, presented by Spencer Ferrier, was a melange of Indonesian Blue (20%) and Peaberry (80%). It is a blend that we have enjoyed before but in this case, the coffees were, like some of the wines we see, probably a little bit past their use-by dates.

24 September 2019 - CoTD James Hill

James Hill was back in the kitchen today as Chef of the Day being assisted by John Hall.

As a trial for this lunch, we only had two tables of some twenty-five each and as members came past the doorman they were given a ticket number to indicate where they would sit. This was done to try and have members sitting next to other members that they may not know. This is the spirit of English or European club luncheons.  Despite some early confusion for the “new”, it worked well and it’s possible that this format will be used for all wine lunches.

I had to pity for the brand new doorman today, Colin Cook, who at least made the point of his inexperience by displaying a green P Plate at his door table. The importance of our doormen is often not recognised, so please don’t just walk by them into the room, but always stop, tell them how you have paid and your name as some don’t know all attending.

Canapes

James shot for the stars today with for starters. And it was a wine lunch! First off was mushroom soup with grated nutmeg in shot cups. Very tasty and not so liquid it was amusing to see a dozen members at one time around the room pointing their heads to the ceiling trying to get the last out of the shot cup!

Three canapés were served on bread with an assortment of flavours as toppings. Firstly, was tomato, garlic and anchovy on Iggy’s bread then roasted pepper on Iggy’s and lastly salted cod on rye bread. I did not get to try them all but there was an abundance of choice and quantity. Comments were that all three were most enjoyable.

Main Course

Today’s main was elegant in its simplicity, but I was not deceived once I cut into the crumbed veal rolls stuffed with spinach. They had been cooked in butter, Parmesan and nutmeg. The delicacy required to wrap, seal and cook the rolls was obvious to anyone who had tried something similar. James indicated that this was a repeat of the dish be done in 2010 which he referred to as a failure. He sourced the veal backstrap from Milly Hill at Armidale and it was a very tasty, succulent and tender meat course.

With the main course was served Dutch carrots, roasted baby potatoes and wild asparagus with olive oil, lemon and parsley dressing.

Cheese

Cheese today was Mauri Taleggio as selected by James Healey. Always a great smelly cheese it was typically sticky and clinging (remind you of some friends!) and hence hard to cut and share but well worth the effort. These “stracchino” cheeses have been made in Lombardy since the 12th century. The cheese served with a simple salad.

Coffee

Coffee by Spencer Ferrier, in absentia today, was a Brazilian. Nothing else was known.

Wines

17 September 2019 - CoTD Paul Ferman

Chef of the Day this week was Paul Ferman who was assisted on canapés by Josef Condrau.                                        

Canapes

You can’t have Mr Ferman in the kitchen without enjoying one of his soups. Today we had a distinctive green pea soup where the shells had been pan-fried to form part of the liquid. Included were some sheep’s milk and bacon crumbs. Paul had chosen to serve this soup chilled and it was very flavoursome. Some would have preferred it to be served warm or hot.

Next up were two spreads on slices of Iggy’s bread the first being eggs, capers, anchovies and tomato paste. This is followed by a tuna butter spread with capers. Both were forthright in terms of flavour and received praise for simplicity and taste.

Main Course

Paul always sources his meat from Feather and Bone with the intention of buying organic food farmed in a sustainable manner. The main was an Italian style polpettone made with veal and pork with a layer of capsicum in the centre. This was served on a very fine processed vegetable “polenta” with some cheese added. There was also some processed carrot to add additional colour to the plate. The dish was a success with the polpettone firm to the cut with complex flavours on the palate. A commendable effort from a very experienced cook.

Cheese

Cheese today was selected by James Healey and presented by Gary Linnane. To complete the all Italian day we had a Montasio cheese from the Perenzin family in Veneto. Apparently the presentation of this cheese varies significantly depending on its age and this quite firm cheese had become a little grainy and crumbly indicating its age. This cheese had not been served at the Society before and whilst a good cheese some thought it lacked some interest in terms of flavour.

With cheese, Paul had three side dishes. Firstly, dried fruit with fantastic activated almonds, then a pretty looking salad topped with edible flowers and finally a fruit plate of strawberries, apple and pear. 

Coffee

Coffee by Spencer Ferrier was a Jamaican Blue Mountain one of the world’s best-known high-end coffees. The coffee is mild in flavour and has a softness as opposed to a bitter finish.

Wines

In keeping with today’s Italian theme the aperitif wine was a Ca dei Zeigo Pet Nat (Pétillant Naturel - naturally sparkling) from Prosecco. Coming from the Valdobbiadene region close Venice it is a wine that contains yeast and consequently is bone dry. It had a pleasant mousse but perhaps lacked sufficient flavour to carry the lack of sweetness. Curiously we opened 2 bottles of Lustau Amontillado with the canapés.

With the main course, we had two reds from the Piemonte region - both from the excellent 2015 vintage. The first, a Mario Molino Barbera d’Alba, was in the bigger style. Still with the strawberry and red cherry we expect from the variety, but with high tannin and oak. Typical of the variety, the wine finished with a fresh acidity.

This wine was paired with a Massolino Langhe Nebbiolo. Massolino is a great winery based in Serralunga d’Alba, one of the 11 villages of Barolo. In the Piemonte, Langhe Nebbiolo tends to be a more approachable style with less oak and tannin. It can come from any Nebbiolo vineyard in the Langhe region and often from younger vineyards. The Langhe region includes Barolo and Barbaresco as well as many other areas. Today’s wine was a wonderful example of the style. Aromas of black cherry, violets and tobacco carried onto the palate with an excellent fruit purity and distinctive, yet soft, Nebbiolo tannins.

With the cheese, we had a couple of 2009 reds from Valpolicella and Tuscany. The Allegrini Palazzo delle Torre is a traditional blend of Corvina and Rondinella made in a mix of Valpolicella and Ripasso methods. The first is a normal fermentation, while the second is a fermentation of semi-dried grapes. The two components are then blended together for further maturation. Unfortunately, this maturation has occurred in old and tainted oak which included Brettanomyces yeast giving a sweaty saddle aroma and a steely, metallic finish. Interestingly this wine has been included in the Wine Spectator Top 100 six times.

The pair for the Valpolicella was a Chianti Classico from Isole e Olena. A highly regarded wine company in Chianti, this is one of their entry wines. While it still showed the earthy, sour cherry characters of Sangiovese, it was starting to tire. A very soft, easy-drinking wine.

10 September 2019 - CoTD Bill A-H and Peter Karr

Our Foodmaster Bill Alexiou-Hucker coaxed long-time member Peter Karr back into the kitchen today for a joint effort. Good numbers again at about 45.

Canapes

Peter took on responsibilities for the canapés today and gave us two. Firstly, was a duck liver pâté which included bacon, cream and topped off with some caramelised onions. This was served on a baguette. Then came along a home-made terrine made from chicken and veal with a plethora of ingredients including fennel, cumin, oregano, pistachio, pepper et cetera et cetera. It was wrapped in bacon.

Both canapés provided an abundance of flavour and there was no shortage of supplies.

Main Course

Bill provided the risotto for the main using Molinaro rice and it was delicious. Copious quantities of butter and cheese had been used to give it its wonderful depth of flavour. There was a nice sized chunk of sausage topping it off. Peter had handmade 5 kg of sausages using pork fat, chicken and veal and the veritable “kitchen sink”. The sausage was tender, soft and full of flavour. A rich enjoyable dish. The dish certainly fits into the comfort food category.

Cheese

The cheese by James Healey today was Bongrain Saint Agur a blue cheese from cow’s milk from Auvergne. St Agur is a relative newcomer and was only created in the late 1980s. It is soft and fruity, with all the blue cheese characteristics you would expect, but not overpowering.

The Chefs of the Day provided stuffed and marinated fig to accompany the cheese.

Coffee

Coffee by Spencer Ferrier today in absentia, was Colombia “La Union” and was very much in the style you would expect from the excellent Colombia style.

Wines

Today’s canapés were coupled with two Pewsey Vale Rieslings. They both showed some development in colour and aroma, although still identifiable as a pair. The 2013 had more freshness, while the 2012 had more classic Riesling flavours.

With the main course another pair. This time a couple of 2012 Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignons. The Fraser Gallop was at its peak, with soft tannins and bright leafy, minty fruit. The Vasse Felix was still a young wine with fresh blackcurrant fruit aromas, it had an excellent mid-weight palate with age-worthy tannins.

With blue cheese, it is often suggested that Sauternes is the best match. Today we had a 2016 Framingham Select Riesling. It had the requisite sweetness and citrus fruit characters to work with the cheese but lacked the lusciousness that more botrytis would have brought to the wine. The second wine, a 2008 Vasse Felix Cabernet Sauvignon, showed the ageing potential we anticipated from the 2012. Still bright in fruit and tannin, it had great balance of components. An excellent wine, although perhaps not as a good match for the cheese.

3 September 2019 - CoTD Guest Chef Nico Flipo

Thanks to Chilly Hargrave for the wine review.

This week in the kitchen we had guest chef Nicolas (Nico) Flipo with his partner Jess Farrow. Many members remembered Jess, a valued member of the crew at REX who is now working as a professional more aligned to her university qualifications. After a slow start numbers were excellent at over forty.

Canapes

Being French, Nico started off with beef tartare in the classic style using gherkin, capers, parsley and mayonnaise, to name a few. It was indeed classic and much liked.

He followed this up with a cream of asparagus soup which had some carrots included. I did not pick the asparagus and it was a very tasty vegetable soup.

Main Course

Classic French doesn’t come much more classic then duck a l'orange. This was served with squares of pressed potatoes which had been baked. Many will have bad memories of sweet duck a l'orange but this one had a beautiful savoury character. Apparently, it was a recipe he had not prepared since chef school in France, but it certainly a recipe many would like to get their hands on.

The duck was served with an interesting combination of a duck “jerky” topping and dehydrated blood orange slices with French shallots and pickled radish. A big success.

Cheese

Nico hails from the Rhône-Alpes region of France and James Healey picked a local cheese from there in the much loved Beaufort. This fromage is a Society favourite and it did not disappoint with firm creamy texture and fruity flavour.

Nico had selected a range of breads from a producer called BakeBar who operate from three locations in Sydney. We had a seeded loaf, a white loaf and a wholemeal loaf. They are a high-quality producer almost up there with Iggy’s.

Coffee

Spencer Ferrier’s pick was a strong black style of coffee which turned out to be Mexican. The big surprise was that after some had complimented him on the coffee, he advised it was decaffeinated. Despite my reservations, I loved its full flavour.

A much-enjoyed lunch with our guest couple presenting a very professional meal. Nico mainly does private catering for dinners large and small. Some asked for contact details and they are as follows:

Nicolas Flipo 0406051373

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Wines

Today’s wine selection to match the canapés was a mix of Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Chardonnay. All were well received and prompted some interesting discussion. These were naturally accompanied by a fine Fino.

The duck course was presented with a couple of Australian Pinot Noirs. A 2010 Medhurst Pinot was showing youth and bright fruit with a slightly hard tannin grip. This was paired with a 2008 Coldstream Hills Pinot. While fully mature and more on the nose, it had good weight and complex flavours. It was perhaps the better match of the two for the duck.

With the cheese, we had a 2013 Wynn’s Cabernet Sauvignon and a 2004 Taylor’s Jaraman Cabernet Sauvignon. The former showed the expected pure fruit aromas with a delightful blackcurrant flavour and grippy Cabernet tannins. So well balanced. The latter was a blend of Clare and Coonawarra. The ripe, almost jammy, fruit was still apparent on the nose. In the mouth, the fruit was showing its age and was now out of balance with the still aggressive tannins.

27 August 2019 - CoTD Hal Epstein

Thanks to James Hill for the food review and Chilly Hargrave for the wine review.

We had a great roll-up for lunch today with 52 members booked. Our current Seafood Chef the Year, Hal Epstein, was in the kitchen and Winemaster Charles (Chilly) Hargrave presenting his first wine tasting since taking over the role.

Canapes

Hal presented two canapés today both a very good match with our aperitif wine the 2010 Keith Tulloch Semillon from the Hunter Valley.

Firstly bocconcini sandwiched between basil leaves (two types, local and Thai ) and cherry tomatoes.

Then followed Lavosh biscuit with Liptauer (Austrian style cream cheese with paprika and caraway) topped with a slice of Polsky pickled cucumber.

Main Course

We didn't go home hungry today..at the suggestion of our Foodmaster Hal served us whole knuckle of Schweinshaxe mit Rotkohl. This translates into pig’s knuckle with red cabbage, roasted to obtain a crisp crackly skin covering the delicious pork leg parts and meat – traditional European fare. It was served today with red cabbage (finely cut with granny smith apple, butter, sugar and apple cider vinegar) and boiled chat potatoes with parsley finish.

It was perfectly cooked. Hal advised he had purchased the meat from a butcher in Hurstville specialising in pork and he finished it in the kitchen for us today.

Cheese

Gary Linnane presented the cheese today selected by James Healey in absentia.

It was the Pyengana Clothbound Cheddar, a Pasteurised cow's milk cheese from Tasmania. Pyengana has an open texture and can be crumbly curd structure. Being a handmade farmhouse cheese, variations in character will appear determined by the season and conditions when the cheese was made. General aromas are reminiscent of summer grass, herbs and honey. The cheddar can be released at around six months but develops into a far more interesting cheese if cellared to twelve months or more.

The majority of comments on cheese today stated that this was the best example of Pyengana we've tasted at our lunches.

Coffee

Continuing our around the world theme of coffee we had a single-origin coffee from Peru. It had fruity notes and quite aromatic with a full flavour finish.

Wines

Today’s wine lunch provided an eclectic range of wines.

With the aperitif, we had ample supplies of the 2010 Tulloch Semillon. A wine that surprised many with its freshness and regional intensity. Perhaps drinking near its best, it was another testament to the ageability of Hunter Semillon and the screwcap closure.

Four wines were presented with the pork knuckle main course. Riesling is the traditional accompaniment for this dish. The first, a 2009 Hugel Jubilee Riesling, was from the Grand Cru Schoenenbourg vineyard. This was a warm year and it showed rich fruit characters although a dry finish. Diam cork.

The matching wine was the 2010 Egon Muller Kabinett Riesling from the Grand Cru Schwarzhofberger vineyard. A very different wine to the first, this showed obvious botrytis apricot notes with citrus fruits. Although quite sweet. It had an intensity that made it a great match for the pork. Screwcap.

Two Burgundies were also matched to the main course. The first, a 2011 Maison Roche de Bellene Volnay Les Mitans (1er Cru) perhaps lacked the fruit intensity expected of the village and the tannins were a little green from this cool vintage. The 2012 Domaine de Bellene Beaune Les Grèves (1er Cru) showed the depth and intensity expected from this village with a fine tannin structure. I believe both wines suffered from development under cork and there was discussion in the room about bottle variability due to cork. One of the Beaune bottles was rejected due to a TCA taint.

With the cheese came two great Italian Sangiovese from the radiant 2009 vintage. Again warm, as in Alsace, it produced wines of genuine ripeness and depth. The 2009 Antinori Pian delle Vigne Brunello Di Montalcino (cork) was, as expected, a wine with full maturity and an obvious oak overlay. Tannins were still firm. In contrast, the 2009 Isole e Olena Ceparello was a vibrant and beautifully balanced wine. At 10 years of age, this wine still had a freshness and vigour that will ensure a long life. Not surprisingly it was closed with a screw cap. No bottle variation here.