Wine review by Stephen O'Halloran, Food Review by Nick Reynolds

Wine

Our Chef de Jour Steve Sparkes got our taste buds sharpened up with some seafood pass arounds which were excellent as we have come to expect from this talented man. The wines served were a French Vouvray and a Tasmanian Gruner Veltliner. Dealing with the French wine first it was a 2016 from Bernard Fouquet Dom Aubuisiers. The grape variety was Chenin Blanc of which I am a fan. Today the wine was drinking superbly. 12.5 %, crisp, clean and flavoursome. Quite elegant, but with plenty of zest. A lovely wine.  For those interested, the best producer in France of Vouvary is in my opinion Marc Bredif. I have tasted several of his wines 20/30 yo and still drinking well. Bulletproof!   The Chenin Blanc grape takes me back to the 70’s and 80’s when Moondah Brook CB was the go-to wine in any Chinese restaurant. Good Times.

The second wine was a pest. I have had this grape variety before, always passable, but not today.  Something was wrong here, maybe a bad bottle. I did not like it.

For the main, a very nice Blue Eye Cod, we had another French white, a 2016 Domaine Oratoire St Martin from the Rhone district. A blend mainly of Roussanne and Marsanne. Quite drinkable, but not in my view enjoyable. A tad oxidised perhaps, or perhaps just my lack of familiarity with this blend. A big wine at 14%. Some in the room seemed to enjoy it. Viva La Difference!

The 4th wine on our list was the ever-reliable Best’s Bin 1 Shiraz from 2012. Drinking very well, lots of time ahead. Despite being 14.5 % the wine was well balanced with some lovely lifted spice and pepper overtones, typical of Grampians Shiraz. A very solid performer.

Wine No 5 was the Tyrrells Vat 47 Chardonnay 2017.  13%. This vintage was rated by Tyrrells as being one of the better vintages of recent times and I found this wine most enjoyable. I heard some dissenting opinions around the room, which I had trouble understanding, perhaps some people just do not like Hunter Chardy! At my table, we all thought it was delightful. So it goes.

The final wine of the day was the Craggy Range Otago PN from 2009. This wine holds a very strong emotional attachment for me as it was in the Craggy Range vineyard that my 2nd Son Andrew and his wife Anna were married there in January 09 on the most perfect day possible. Warm sun, no wind, the marquee nestling between the rows of grapes beginning to ripen The majestic mountain range is almost near enough to touch. Many of those there that day declare it to be the best venue for a reception they have been to.

This brief interlude however does not have a happy ending.  Anna died 3 years ago from pancreatic cancer leaving Andrew with their two sons aged 9 and 7. The boys and their dad now live with us in Mosman. They now go to Riverview and are beginning to become more settled and happy.  

Back to the wine. This PN is now 14 yo and is in my view still drinking very well. 14%, great colour, with a nice integration of oak and tannin. Beautiful PN aromas. Thank you Chilly for putting this wine on. A treat, but don’t leave it too long for the next one.

Food

Steve Sparkes has been a member of WFSNSW for only a brief period but during this time he has demonstrated to us that he always delivers high-quality, tasty, and visually-appealing dishes. 

Today his dish for the Chef of the Year Cook-Off was no exception.

For canapés, he started with Coffin Bay Pacific Oysters presented with a homemade Teriyaki sauce which was reduced slightly and served with chives

This was followed by a light seafood terrine that included prawn, crab and scallop with saffron and egg white  served on a cracker,

Lastly, he served wonton wrappers moulded in a muffin tin filled with prawns, crabs, chilli, coriander, ginger, garlic and toasted coconut with a tamarind-based dressing. I particularly enjoyed this for the melange of flavours and textures.

Each canapé was very tasty and, more importantly, able to be held and eaten whilst holding and drinking from a glass of wine.

For the main course, Steve sourced restaurant quality-blue-eye trevalla. Each piece was laser cut to 180 grams. The fish was cooked sous vide for 60 minutes at 53C. It was served on steamed basmati rice that was expertly prepared by the restaurant team.

The curry sauce was Sri-Lankan and inspired by Peter Kuravita from Flying Fish. Rather than cooking a fish curry, Steve chose instead to serve the curry sauce as an accompaniment to the fish. This was to allow members to choose how much they wanted. In a further nod to meeting member needs, Steve reported that the heat intensity was dialled down by about 75% from the original recipe.

Steve added a Coconut sambal and Squid Ink Tuile for texture and eye appeal. As a chef, I must note how much effort goes into making individual tuiles simply as an accompaniment. This is something that is normally done by someone in a kitchen brigade rather than a home cook. Steve also added a slice of lime to the plate so that the diner could adjust their dishes to their own tastes.

The cheese was Pyengana and served with a simple salad dressed with vinegar, mustard and olive oil, some home-made preserved kumquats and a, once again home-made tangy relish. The bread was a 'light sourdough' baguette from Bourke Street Bakery.

If Steve is cooking, I recommend that you book as you will always be served an excellent meal.