Food review by Frank Liebeskind and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran

Food

A fantastic lunch, full of taste and of generous portions. No one went home hungry, I for one didn’t have dinner.

Paul Irwin (with Steve Liebeskind doing a canape and assisting Paul in the kitchen and plating) recreated his Hainanese chicken dish.

We started with three excellent canapes.

First, we had ceviche snapper with a vinaigrette of orange and lemon juice served on spoons, a beautiful white fish with a delightful kick and challenge to the taste buds. Loved it.

This was followed by Steve’s gravlax of ocean trout with sour cream and dill sauce, served on bread rounds, Steve has done his gravlax often, and certainly, this one didn’t let us down.

The third canape was the chicken tenderloins from the breast that Paul cooked for the main. Paul crumbed the chicken tenders in panko crumbs and served them with a dipping sauce of siracha mayo, finger-licking good.

The main was a huge success again. Paul’s Hainanese Chicken was outstanding, one member claimed it was the best they have ever had, and I would agree.

Paul’s attention to detail was highlighted in this dish. Big succulent chicken breasts were marinated in Paul’s own master stock (for 48 hours I believe), the breasts then sous vide at 63 degrees.

Beautifully sliced and presented and topped with Kecap Manis. Paul cooked the rice “risotto style” again using Paul’s Master stock and giving the rice a complex but delicate taste and beautiful colour.

To complement the chicken, Paul served some finely grated/ground ginger and a magnificent, fermented capsicum puree. The heat from the ginger gave the dish a kick to the taste buds.

Having said that, some members wanted chopped chilli too, next time Paul said he would put chopped chilli (in soy?) on the table for members to enjoy as they might.

The plating was completed with braised bok choy in oyster sauce, garnished with sliced cucumber and tomato.

Paul’s master stock was also served in a cup, for each member to pour over the rice, or chicken or drink, as they saw fit. Beautiful master stock with a coriander leaf.

The bread was sourdough from Harris Farm, tasty, fresh, and generous.

Paul also provided a salad (with the cheese) of mixed leaf greens, sliced pear on the side, and a dressing of EVOO, mustard and balsamic vinegar.

An outstanding lunch, with every element well executed. My only regret, no leftovers, for $10 a container.

Mark Bradford our Cheese Master presented us with an excellent and tasty cheese, and Josef C stood up and identified it immediately as a Swiss Gruyere (well he is Swiss).

This 45% fat unpasteurised cow’s milk Gruyere AOP cheese was well received.

The supplier’s description is:

The methods used to make this cooked cheese are strictly controlled by the Swiss authorities. Once made only from alpine milk high in the mountain pastures in the summer, but now made throughout the year. The production of cheese in the region can be traced back to 1115. It continues nowadays according to a well-tried recipe in the village cheese dairies of its native land – the district of La Gruyère in the Canton of Fribourg (Switzerland) – but also in the cantons of Vaud, Neuchâtel, and Jura, as well as in a few municipalities of Bern. The brown natural pebbled rind encases a dense smooth interior with the occasional small pea sized hole formed by propionic bacteria and small horizontal fissures known as ‘lenures’.

It has a slightly condensed sweet, nutty flavour that lingers on the palate.

Wine

The pre-lunch wine was very enjoyable, Muscadet Sevre et Main Sur Lie 2021 12%. This wine was a good partner for the delicious raw snapper and ocean trout entrée that was provided.

There were some grumbles around the room about the wine not being up to standard for a good Muscadet, too sweet and so on. I did not detect any undue sweetness and thought that the wine finished with a nice clean acidic finish, perfect with the fish. Picking up on comments around the room, it seemed to me that most there were quite happy.  I have had good quality Muscadet in France on a few occasions with some Bay of Biscay oysters, a superb combo.  The exact same wine here weeks later tastes quite different. Must be the holiday effect!

We were then treated to three excellent reds with our chicken main. First was the Freycinet Tasmanian Pinot 2020 14%. Very nice indeed, in fact, I preferred it to the following wine, a Burgundy. The Freycinet was a wine in great balance, with plenty of flavour, nice velvety smoothness with a firm finish. An excellent Australian Pinot. The second wine was the Christian Clerget Bourgogne Rouge from 2015 12.5%, an acclaimed vintage in Burgundy. Perhaps it was a poor bottle or perhaps it was just me in a fickle mood, but I just did not connect with this wine. To me, it simply lacked flavour.  Perhaps a second bottle might cause me to review my assessment more generously.

We then moved on to the cheese wines. First was a Society favourite and also one of my go-to wines, the Seppelt St Peters Shiraz 2010 14%. This wine from the Grampians in Vic comes from a vineyard at Seppelt where the main business is making sparkling wine. The vineyard adjacent to the winery is where St Peters comes from, formerly known as Seppelt Great Western Shiraz, a wonderful wine, full or ripe fruit, spicy with gentle tannins and a subtle oak finish. Wine of the day.

The final wine of the day was a 2018 Yves Cuilleron Rousanne Les Vignes d’a Cote.  Readers of my articles from previous occasions will be aware that I do not have high regard for Rhone whites, Roussanne, Viognier or Marsanne. I find them unctuous and fat with a blowsy finish. Today, however, much against my anticipated reaction, this Roussanne grew upon me as the day wore on. A very good cheese wine, mouth-filling, but well-balanced. I think the trick was to serve it with a strongly flavoured cheese, not with a delicate entrée.