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

Food

In the kitchen, today was Ro Stamm assisted by Paul Irwin in our fourth ‘cook-off’ for Chef of the Year 2022.

The standard of food presented in our ‘cook-offs’ has been exceptional, and today was no exception.

Canapés

Firstly, on spoons, we had pan-seared zucchini with oregano topped with whipped goats and parmesan cheese. I loved the flavour and texture in this canapé, one to keep in mind.

Then followed devils on horseback, prunes, prime bacon, pan-seared..yum.

Bountiful canapés today eagerly devoured by members

Main

We had duck breast cooked somewhat differently from the last time Ro cooked.

It was massaged with fennel, coriander, salt and pepper then baked for forty minutes at 40 degrees then finished in the kitchen by pan searing.

The outcome was a beautifully cooked and presented dish. The breast cut in three slices showed pinkness of the flesh and had crispy skin. The duck was easy to cut and well handled with a delightful flavour with balanced seasoning. The duck was served with a very good potato mash with a lot of butter and cream and was well seasoned. In addition, snap peas were prepared, poached and served in quantity on the plate. The peas were well cooked and crispy, a great treat. To round out the meal, there was a light and elegant red wine and stock jus. However, there were comments on ‘jus volume variation' with members suggesting there could be more on their plates. It was a great flavour that complemented the duck.

As, our soon-to-be, Food Master commented ‘there were four ingredients in the plate and you have to get his right ..and today you did.’

Well done Ro.

Cheese

For his last lunch as Cheese Master James Healey presented Tête de Moine as a request by our Chef of the Day.

Tete De Moine. This is a cow's milk cheese made in Switzerland. It comes in a 700gm round and is a hard cheese that matures for 7 – 9 months. Normally the cheese is served shaved but today we had wedges that were very enjoyable. The dominant character was that of nuttiness and had a slight complementary style to a Comte.

We had a mixed green salad served with a tarragon and a mustard-based vinaigrette that Ro makes at home often. The salad had good acid and the tarragon added another dimension to the overall flavour. The salad went very well with the cheese provided.

Bread today was from Bourke Street Bakery. Every baker does their sourdough with a difference and this bread was not as moist as we’ve seen with some of our other suppliers.

Quote of the day.

You know what they say about magnums, perfect for a party

… of two, especially if one person isn’t drinking

Wine

Dear Members, we were indeed fortunate today to enjoy a superb meal via the talents of our Chef De Jour Romain Stamm and our Winemaster Chilly Hargraves. Duck and Pinot, a marriage made in heaven. Tell me that you can do better in Sydney for $85 and I can tell you, you’re dreaming! As usual, I will leave the food comments for others. With regard to the wines, as you may have become aware, I usually find room to have a whinge about one wine at least, so you will not be surprised to read that I have found one to pour derision upon! More later. We kicked off with a delightful KT Riesling 2015, (2017 on the list was a typo) from the Clare. Readers will recall that we had the 2017 of this wine last week. I commented at the time that I found the 2017 a little flat on the palate and a tad disappointing. Not so the 2015 which we had today. More acid/fruit, more zest on the palate, and overall a delightful aperitif wine for the pass-arounds, which were excellent.

Next wine was the Guigal Cote du Rhone Blanc 2018. Normally, I am a fan of Guigal red wines. The wine today was I understand, a blend of Viognier, Rousanne and perhaps some Marsanne. There were some people in the room who say they enjoyed the wine, for reasons I cannot fathom, but I did not. Oily, greasy, unctuous, with no appealing flavour, generally not to my taste., The only time I have encountered a Viognier that I liked was it’s 5% share of the famous Clonkilla Shiraz. A great wine. My dislike of Viognier goes back many years. This is a true story, bear with me. At my former residence in Longueville, where wine would be delivered often, under the sometimes disapproving gaze of my wife, an anonymous donor dropped off an elegant wooden box of 6 bottles of 100% Viognier. I opened a bottle sometime later and could not finish even half a bottle. Dreadful. The message became clear to me, someone out there dislikes me! So here’s a tip. If you like Viognier, keep it to yourself. And saves fractured friendships. Do not under any circumstances give it to a friend, who will soon become an ex-friend!

The next four red wines were I thought all excellent in their own way. We had two Pinots, one from Australia, the 2013 Curley Flat from Macedon in Vic, and the 2012 Chambolle Musigny from Burgundy, my favourite of the two. The Australian wine came in at 13.5% and the French at 12.5%. I think the French wine was better balanced by that factor alone. The Curley Flat I found a little oaky, but most enjoyable. Some comments were to the effect that the wine would have been better 2/3 years ago, given that it is now a 10yo.  The same comments were made about the French wine, delightful, but perhaps, left in the cellar a bit to long. I know that we as a Society are addressing this issue. Anyhow, without question, these two wines were the perfect accompaniment to our main course.

To conclude our splendid lunch, we had with our cheese two Australian Shiraz, a Barossa Gibson Estate Dirtman 2012 coming in at a beefy 14.5% and a 2012 Wynns Coonawarra coming in at a more moderate 13.5%. The Gibson was a wine Robert Parker would have been proud of, a huge black thing, sucking all of the light out of the room, but today this style seems to have fallen out of favour, as illustrated by the room’s apparent preference for the more elegant Wynns.

We were all privileged to enjoy a wonderful meal and many thanks to all involved.