President's Dinner 27 August 2014

Under the capable hand of James Hill as convenor, the 75th President's Dinner at Bentley restaurant at the Radisson Hotel was a great success.

We managed to get a private room in this trendy and popular venue, but the price was a limit on numbers to 35. This was a pity, but those lucky enough to make it enjoyed an evening combining the Society's three basics: good wine, good food and good fellowship.

The event got off to a great start with 1999 Pol Roger, clean and intense with great yeast flavours and a wonderful mousse. The quality continued into the whites served with the 1st course (after an amuse bouche of a smoked eel brandade tartlet); a 2007 Lindemans Bin 0755 semillon and the Tyrrells Vat 1 semillon from the same year, both of course from the Hunter. The Tyrrells was clearly the better wine, the Lindies having lost fruit and become a bit thin. They matched a disc of pastry topping a creamy cauliflower custard with strong mushroom and black garlic; a good combination when eaten together.

The 2nd course was a lovely combination of Moreton Bay Bug tails, a piece of fish advertised as snapper but more probably John Dory, and an intensely rich and unctuous shellfish broth. Bigger whites were needed, and appeared in the form of a Penfolds 00A chardonnay from 2000, and a Yeringberg chardonnay from the same year. The Pennies was light gold in colour, fresh as a daisy and with top fruit still in balance; the Yeringberg was deep gold with intriguing honey and herb notes on the nose but clearly past its best with a degree of oxidation.

On to the serious stuff, with a course of superbly rare kangaroo loin accompanied by purple carrot and a rich jus containing riberries and native pepper; a well-integrated dish with just enough peppery notes to offset the meat. A brace of2000 Bordeaux was the ideal accompaniment; a Ch Faizeau from St Emillon and a Clos-du-Marquis from St Julien. Both were good examples of their region, the St Emillon softer and fruitier, the St Julien sterner and more uplifted.

The red meat continued with little blocks of slow-cooked Rangers Valley skirt steak served with pieces of fennel and again a wonderful jus with mustard and an unusual olive crumble which made the dish. The wines were eclectic: a 2002 Damilano Le Cinquevigne Barolo with plenty of the famous tar and a bit of rose on the nose, and a deep smooth palate, both of which improved in the glass; and the Burton McLaren Vale Reserve from the same year, a big, smooth and satisfying example of a top SA shiraz.

The gustatory part of the evening concluded with a(short) address from President Greg Chugg, and a dessert of violet ice cream (true to the colour if not the flavour) with cocoa honeycomb and blueberries. Naturally, a class sticky was served with it, a 1996 Ch Nairac from Barsac, apricot in colour and on the nose with luscious baked fruit characters balanced by acid.

The Dinner concluded but festivities continued.

A wonderful evening and thanks to the President for being same, and to James Hill and Paul Ferman for putting it together.

75th Anniversary Dinner 19 July 2014

Photos from left to right Present and past presidents, Food masters, Cellar masters,Cheese master, Life members, Ray Healey Life member, past president and cellarmaster.

For a wine and food society to endure for 75 years is pretty amazing, let alone to do so in flourishing order and condition. So there was plenty to celebrate at the Dinner held to commemorate our Society's third quartile.

It took place at the Pullman Quay Grand Hotel at the bottom end of Macquarie Street, and a cheerful but nostalgic crowd of 82 members, former members and guests were present. They included the President, Greg Chugg, and 10 former Presidents (see below), a terrific rollup which is a good indication of the Society's strength.

It was an evening to remember, not so much for the wine and food, which were excellent but not outstanding, but for the number present, the atmosphere in the room and the short but sweet tributes to the Society from luminaries such as Ray Healey, Ted Davis and Mick Dunne and an appropriate toast to the Society by Terry Stapleton, not to mention a bonus effort from Pat Healey representing the "Society widows". There was much moving between tables and cheerful (at times, deafening) interchange of memories and views.

The evening got under way with the 2002 Pol Roger and canapes of little sausage pieces wrapped in prosciutto and a creamy mushroom foam in plastic cups. Sitting down we were regaled with:

A poached quail egg with a mildly spicy crème fraiche, a flavoursome slightly bitter duck tea jelly and a (minute) bit of osietra caviar. Beautifully matched with a slightly sweet but incisive Egon Muller " Schartzhofberger" Riesling; a 2005 Tyrrells Vat 1 semillon was good in its own right but not as sympathetic to the food

Seared Canadian scallops, imberico jamon ham and truffle infused sea urchin butter. The dish was well balanced ,with the scallops a touch overdone; and surprisingly well suited to a 1996 Marc Bredif Vouvray sec, with nice toasted apple notes and still strong acidity.

A grapefruit Campari sorbet refresher, in which the Campari predominated.

20-hour cooked Wagyu beef, topped with specks of bone marrow with porcini mushrooms, cauliflower puree and a bordelaise jus. Terrific flavour and texture in the beef, obviously slow cooked sous vide and seared, with an interesting bracket of big reds; a 2006 Vall Llach "Embruix" Priorat from Spain weighing in at 15.5 % alcohol and our own Penfolds St Henri shiraz, 2002 vintage and no shy flower at 14.5%. The Spanish was a blend with grenache dominant, and was a bit dirty in the mouth, while the St Henri showed full ripe fruit but needing still more time for the tannins to integrate.

A bouche d'affinois surface-ripened cheese from France, with kumara paste, walnut log and lavosh. The accompanying wines were a little disappointing: 1999 Yeringberg Cabernets was mature but with a slight degree of volatility; and the 2000 Ch d'Enclos Pomerol was a solid example of the region without exciting.

A velvet citrus tart, which lived up to its description, with a pineapple wafer and a refreshing lemon curd ice cream. A little numbing for the 2008 Ch Filhot Sauternes served with it, though the wine drunk separately was fine and restrained, still a long way to go.

Tea and coffee with a 1980 Lindemans RF1 vintage port, sweet but some good aged rancio characters coming through; and a Ornellaia grappa, about which "true to style" is the best description.

The former presidents in attendance were ,in descending periods in office: Terry Stapleton (1987-88 and 2004-05); Ted Davis (1989-90); John Edwards (1991-92); John Banks (1995-96); Ray Healey (1997-98); John Rourke (2002-03); Josef Condrau (2006-07); Marcus Bleasel (2008-09); James Hill (2010-11); and Steve Liebeskind (2012-13).

Chef of the Year Dinner 24 May 2014

Eating well gives a spectacular joy to life

Elsa Schiaparelli

Thus it was a joyful over-capacity audience who left the Royal Exchange Club after a meal which would have pleased a 4-star diner and which set a new standard for care and quality in Society food.

It was all down to last year's winner (and current food Master) Nick Reynolds, who not only did most of the preparation and cooking, but embellished it with touches such as homemade butter, quince paste and even cheese crackers. Truly devotion above and beyond...

The food was, in the main, backed by some pretty classy wines chosen by Wine Master Paul Ferman. To start, canapés of anchovy (hand filleted) with smoked tomato sorbet on sourdough toasts were tangy, salty and disappeared rapidly, as did homemade tartlets filled with smoked salmon, crème fraiche and salmon roe; all accompanied by an average sparkling Vouvray and a terrific 2000 Lindemans Bin 9655 Hunter Semillon with youthful acid under developing toasty fruit.

An amuse bouche of a mushroom cappuccino had all the intense mushroom flavour, lifted by onion sweetness and topped with a creamy broth, one could ask for. The Lustau amontillado sherry served with it cut across beautifully with rich nutty aroma and flavour balanced with tangy flor notes. There followed one of the evening's highlights, bresaola (air-dried) Parma ham thinly sliced and served under a dusting of crunchy seared cauliflower pieces and grated truffle-infused pecorino cheese. The ham was moist and subtle, and the textures and flavours on top all enhanced the result, especially with a drizzle of olive oil added. The matching wines were a 2009 Marina Coppi barbera from Italy, soft and simple but probably better with the food than the 1999 Steingarten Riesling although this was a superior wine with golden maturity still held in check by zippy acid.

The main course was a repeat of Nick's signature zucchini-scaled salmon fillet with ratatouille-stuffed zucchini flowers and béarnaise sauce. The salmon was cooked sous vide at 70 degrees for 5 minutes and came to the table red and unctuous, with the laboriously hand-applied wafer-thin zucchini "scales" still crunchy. The sauce set the richness of the fish off well, whilst the flowers, a little mushy from the wet contents, had plenty of hearty tomato and eggplant flavours to balance the protein. The display on the plate was a joy to behold, and the whole was well matched with a 2006 Tyrrells Vat 6 pinot noir and a 2002 Vat 47 from the same maker. The red was a bit young and aggressive for the delicacy of the food, but the chardonnay, always reliable, shone with lovely sweet fruit supported with still developing acid complexity. Ah.....

An Ossau Iraty semi-hard cheese from Italy was in good condition with nice nut and lactic notes, and well accompanied by dried apricots (hand dried, of course), nuts and the aforementioned quince paste and crackers, light and crisp. The accompanying wines were again an international mix, with a 2002 Damiliano Barolo and a 2002 Grant Burge Shadrach Cabernet sauvignon. The Italian was predictably tannic but showing signs of the vaunted "tar and roses" character, whilst the local hero was a big, very well made Barossa cabernet with fruit, tannins and acid starting to come together.

Finishing off the food was a dessert of chocolate orange mousse, swimming in a lake of rich chocolate confiture with a homemade spiced fruit brioche and a cool and pleasant yoghurt sorbet.

The accompanying Ch la Rame Sauternes was adequate but lacking in intensity and botrytis richness.

A good, slightly citrus, Devon estate coffee from India concluded proceedings, interrupted earlier by the presentation by President Greg Chugg of the awards for 2013:

The Chris Alexiou Seafood Trophy, to James Hill;

The Chef of the Year Award, to John Rourke;

With knife presentations to the other finalists, Nigel Burton, Nick Reynolds and Bruce Thomas.

Nowhere else in Sydney could you get such a well thought out and executed meal, with such attractive wines; not to mention such a happy and gregarious group of members and guests. It was a really memorable evening.

Dinners & Trips

Details to be advised

Chef of The Year Dinner

Mudgee Trip

Burgundy Dinner

Jazz Night