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

It was a welcome return to the kitchen for our chef of the day Scott Witt who prepared a French-inspired lunch.

Canapes 

First up was baccala mantecato with fennel oil.

This is a riff on classic Venetian Cicchetti (bar snack), it makes a perfect salty and creamy starter albeit quite acidic.

Cannellini beans, marinated white anchovies, garlic cloves, lemon juice, EVOO, and greek yoghurt are blended then piped into shortcrust pastry cups then topped with fennel seed oil and fennel fronds.

This was followed up with some ’nduja’ (Sicilian spreadable salami) on pumpernickel topped with pickled cucumber and onion and then adding some sweetness fig and balsamic chutney. The salami had a fiery kick which was softened by the other toppings.

Nick Reynolds prepared his very popular 30 layers Patatas Brava.

Potatoes are first sliced thinly with a mandoline then stacked in baking trays. They are then baked while pressed with weights, then vacuum sealed under pressure. For service, they are cut into bite-sized squares and finally deep-fried. The flavours of the dish are savoury, and a little bit smokey and hot from the paprika in the sauce and garlic from the aioli.

My favoured canapé on the day.

Main course

Scott’s main was a duck stew, basically a 'cassoulet-light' featuring duck breast and haricot tarbais beans imported from France. The skin of the tarbais bean is known for its fineness.

Scott added garlic carrots and peas to his dish. The beans dissolved and were integrated into the meal, this didn’t alter the overall taste of the dish. The vegetables were cooked to the right level of doneness. Rich, unctuous and full flavoured.

Scott used duck breasts for the meal perfectly cooked, tender and pink.

A gremolata of parsley and lemon finished with Panko bread crumbs topped the dish.

Some comments suggested a little more seasoning added to the dish.

There were many favourable comments on the dish and the large portion size with one dissenter ..as Paul pointed out robust discussion on food wine is actively encouraged.

Chilly raised the white flag on our table unable to finish.

Bread today was white sourdough from Humble Bakery a new shop at 16 Loftus st Circular Quay.

Cheese

James Healey our Cheesemaster presented a cloth-bound cheddar asking the room to guess the origin ..… no one picked it it was from Wisconsin USA. It was semi-hard cow’s milk cheese ‘Pleasant Ridge Reserve’ from the Uplands Cheese Company.

Pleasant Ridge Reserve is made in the tradition of alpine cheeses by Uplands Cheese, a family-run dairy and cheese-making facility located on ‘Pleasant Ridge’ in southwestern Wisconsin.

The cheese is only made between May and October, while the cows are grazing on fresh pastures. The grass-fed milk produces flavour complexity in cheese that can’t be replicated when cows are eating machine-harvested feed.

The flavours of Pleasant Ridge Reserve are reminiscent of another alpine classic – Beaufort, with hints of caramel and salt, together with complex layers of grass and flora.

Wine

The white wine served with the pass-arounds was from Austria, featuring the name Braitenpuechttorff Gemischter Satz.  I have never seen such a creature before.  More letters than the alphabet. Just hope I am not called upon to pronounce the name. I think it was a blend of several grape varieties, but the label was totally unhelpful in establishing its component parts, vintage 2017. Having said that, the wine was in fact quite enjoyable, a well-balanced combination of fruit and acid leading to a mouth-filling but dry finish. It went very well with the food on offer.

The first red wine was a Craiglee Shiraz 2014  from the Sunbury district of Victoria.  The vineyard was originally planted in the 1860s but eventually fell into disuse until the mid-1970s when it was revitalised by the current owner Patrick Carmody. The vineyard has since produced some excellent Shiraz and is highly regarded by many. I cannot recall having a Craiglee wine at any of our lunches.  In any event, this wine was very enjoyable, if not outstanding. At 13.5%, some nice spicy oak was noticeable. A deep purple hue, with sufficient acid to carry it through for a few more years of good drinking.

The second red was a Shaw + Smith Shiraz from the Adelaide Hills, 2014 vintage at 14%. Quite distinguishable from the previous wine. Much lighter in structure and with a tad more delicate flavour. I must confess that I was a little underwhelmed with this wine, perhaps expecting something better. That’s the burden you carry I guess when a winemaker has a very solid reputation for quality wines, and every now and then up pops a wine that just falls a little short of expectations. I think the wine was fading a little, not helped by its light structure, and it had no lingering aftertaste, just disappearing off the palate. Sorry, was hoping for better.

The cheese wines, (an excellent Californian cheddar indeed) were the Lindemans Ben Ean vineyard Shiraz Bin 1400 from 2014, and the David Thomas Kiss Shiraz from the same year and district. Dealing with the Lindemans first, here was a wine that ticked all the boxes. Great year, one of the oldest and most respected vineyards in the Hunter and a sound winemaking team. Drinking now as an 8 yo and beginning to hit its straps. Elegant, great balance although at 14.5%. The fine tannins and soft fruits carried it through. Slight cherry/blackberry aromas and a dash of leather came together seamlessly to produce a terrific wine.

The final wine was the Thomas Kiss Shiraz 2014.  A celebrated winemaker, David Thomas has produced in recent years award-winning Semillons and Shiraz. This was a lovely Shiraz, 14.2% with an abundance of well-integrated fruit and tannin.  A delight to drink, notwithstanding some over-generous oak influence.

These last two wines were a perfect end to the lunch, with subtle lingering finishes.