Food review by Frank Liebeskind and wine review by Steve Liebeskind

Food

17 October 2023 Bill Alexiou-Hucker and Voula Price

Bill and his friend Voula Price (Bill refers to Voula as the “Greek Chef”) were chefs of the day, and what a Greek feast it was. Apollo Restaurant, eat your heart out.

Bill always provides a great meal, but I think working with and inspired by Voula, Bill went to the next level today.

Canapes

We started with three traditional meze, all handmade (including the 100 dolmades) by Voula:

• Spanakopita (spinach pie) spinach, eggs, fetta and pecorino cheese, filo pastry, and the best Spana I’ve eaten, great flay filo and generous filling, loved it.

• Keftedes – meatballs – 25% pork mince, 75% beef mince, grated tomato, fresh herbs, coated in flour and deep fried. Brilliant and popular, served with 2 sauces, but personally would have preferred them served with tzatziki, or another tangy Greek yoghurt sauce.

• Dolmades – stuffed vine leaves – hand rolled, stuffed with rice and herbs, EVOO and lemon juice made these the best dolmades I’ve eaten, and I’ve had more than a few (and in Greece).

The entrée is another of Bill’s excellent octopus dishes and with a few differences. BBQ octopus, chorizo, kipfler potato and rocket salad, lemon/olive oil dressing.

The octopus was steamed at home by Bill, and char-grilled at the REX, served lukewarm, soft and succulent, a great entree and really well received, the chorizo added a complementary hot spice to the dish. Loved it, happy to have this again (please).

Main

Main by Bill A-H, and another level to traditional Greek lamb.

6-hour roasted lamb shoulder, yoghurt/tahini smear, yemista (stuffed tomatoes – rice, roasted cumin and fennel seeds, sultanas, sautéed onion), charred eggplant, crispy roasted cauliflower florets.

The photo doesn’t do justice to this dish, The lamb was shredded, juices added back to keep it soft and succulent, the cauli was brilliantly crispy and tasty, and the stuffed tomato made this a hero dish.

I doubted Bill had stuffed the tomatoes, but he said he did (and 47 of them, where were the other two?), great main.

I bought a container of Bill’s leftover lamb, and I went home happy ????.

Greek salad/barrel-aged fetta, see below for feta review, an excellent salad, generous tomatoes, red capsicum and Lebanese cucumbers. Personally, with some red onion slices and a little lemon juice, it would have been perfect.

But a generous lunch didn’t stop there, Voula made us a dessert,  her family favourite, and now mine too.

Galaktoboureko/Baklava – walnut baklava base, baked milk custard, filo pasty, syrup, brilliant, and had both my favourite Greek desserts in one (photo of it on the benches behind Voula and Bill’s photo)

Cheese

Aphrodite Barre. Aged Feta from Will Stud, a goat & sheep's milk.

The description provided says:

Authentic handmade Greek feta that has been carefully ripened in small, old beech wood barrels using traditional techniques.

After three months maturation in the barrel, the feta develops a soft milky texture and a seriously creamy peppery finish.

And the cheese was brilliant, not too salted, not dry, creamy and smooth, so good I bought some that was leftover.

Wine

Today we had a Mixed lunch with 45 in attendance.

1. NV A by House of Arras – Premium Cuvee, Tamar Valley Tasmania.  Arras and Tasmania keep on improving and show they are a leader in winemaking. While we went for a non-vintage today we did see a very well made sparkling at a very good price. The structure and flavour were very smart. The wine showed a complex and inviting aroma with subtle notes of the forest floor and exotic spice. The palate had opulent flavours of lychee, butter mushroom and apples. The wine is composed of 55-60% Pinot Noir, 30-35% Chardonnay, 7.5% Pinot Meunier, and spends three years on lees.

2. 2019 Robert Stein Dry Riesling, Mudgee. This multi-gold medal wine showed crisp acid, good fruit and cool climate characteristics. There were lime and fruit characters you would expect, with a racy finish with a slight touch of sweetness. This wine has the ability to age beautifully.

The next 4 wines are in my view ‘Society favourites’ that have 10 to 13 years of age. All showed exceptionally well, were drinking at their peak, were well received by all and complemented the food they were served with.

3. 2013 Seppelts Henty Jaluka Chardonnay, Victoria - Straw colour that is going towards golden. Fragrant aromas of white peach intermixed with cashew are followed by apple and peach. Medium bodied with a slightly creamy, elegant mouthfeel the palate has flavours of white peach, cashew and spice. There was a slight stalkiness on the palate. Clean dry finish and balanced. This went with the octopus, chorizo and rocket.

4. 2010 Wynns Black Label Cabernet, Coonawarra - a great rich luscious fruit-driven palate of blackcurrant & cassis. At 14% alcohol, the wine was not overpowered and was drinking with balance and elegance. There was great length with a hint of mint coming through.

5. 2010 Chateau Lanessan Haut Medoc – Cru Bourgeois – A smart Bordeaux structured wine that has been a staple for the Society for many years. Well balanced wine with good oak and skin tannins. Deep crimson colour, good length and cigar characters present. The Merlot helped soften the Cabernet fruit.

Wines 4 and 5 went with the lamb dish.

6. 2010 Guigal Cotes du Rhone, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre (dominant varieties). After 13 years this wine was showing good mature characters. The Grenache shone through and the Mourvèdre added characteristics of wood. The wine was earthy, balanced and had a soft to medium body. Fresh fruits with berries and spices were present. Was served to complement the fetta cheese and Greek salad.