Lunch Report / Author Bill Alexiou-Hucker / Food Master
The warm weather did not stop the accolades coming in for Jonathan Casson’s brisket stack. More a winter dish, the timing could not be helped given it was a contender for the Chef of the Year award.
We were spoilt with Leigh Halls succulent venison dish last week, and Jonathan doubled down (up?) with his brisket dish today
We started with 3 flavour bombs of canapes , light canapes which made for perfect starters before the richness of the brisket . Jonathan was ably assisted by Peter Kelso, pickled Herring salad on zucchini medallions, Paul Thorne’s duck consume enriched with Lychees, the sweetness in the consume had everyone guessing, and star-anise made for a wonderful light canape. The 3rd canape was Jonathan’s Pea and Mint Croustades. mixed with a hard goat’s cheese.
Jonathan made his croustades by simply rolling our crustless tip top bread to become a fine dough, line a muffin pan with the bread rounds, bake for 10 – 12 minutes and there you have them. A very simple but practical way of serving purees, dips and diced ingredients, I am sure future C’sOTD will give it a go
The canapes, not too heavy, were a well-balanced starter to the main.
Jonathan’s dish was nominated for COTY based largely on its presentation, however today, we were gifted with not only a professional presentation but a juicy, tasty beef brisket, topped with a creamy mash and a sous vide field mushroom. The mushroom was firm but also very tasty. The brisket was surrounded by droplets of a pea puree, charred broccolini and a tasty jus. Jonathan slow cooked 12 kgs of brisket to feed the members today
It was a triumph in presentation and flavour, well done Jonathan .
Wine Report / Author Stephen O'Halloran / President
Today was the 3rd of our lunches for this year , & the second in our COTY challenge . We have certainly set the bar high with some terrific meals so far . Jonathon Casson presented us with a first class meal of Brisket . Visually stunning & just as good to eat . Peter Kelso & Paul Thorne assisted with the canapes which were excellent , especially the Herrings on zucchini slices . A delightful cheddar was perfect with the wines served . Many thanks to the Chef & the sous chefs .
With regard to wine , for canapes we started with an Italian white, Falanghina del Sannio Taburo 2024 @ 14 % . The wine hails from the Campania region in southern Italy . A most interesting wine . Tons of fruit flavours , lime, lemon, melon to name a few . Bighting acidity , which blended well with the overall texture of the wine . A crisp clean finish . This was a strongly flavoured aperitif style wine which to my taste partnered well with the fishy herring canape . Overall a great start .
Wine No 1 on the wine list was the 2015 Langhe Nebbiolo from the well regarded producer Massolino @14 % . A Piedmont wine , lighter in structure than the Nebbiolo used to create Barolo , same grape variety , but worlds apart in many respects . In my view , if you like Nebbiolo, drink the Langhe , a much more approachable wine after say 5 years from vintage , rather than waiting around another 5 + years for the Barolo to mature . In any event , I really liked this wine, silky smooth , mid weight . Elegant & well balanced , with an enticing aftertaste . At 10 + YO , probably reaching the a " drink now " status . A lovely food wine .
Wine 2 was the Pannell 2016 Syrah from the Adelaide Hills region of SA . Stephen Pannell is one of my favourite wine makers , & I wish I could afford to buy a lot more of his excellent wines . This wine @ 14% was a big wine , powerful but at the same time juicy & smooth . The colour was intense black / dark red . Flavours of blackberry & blue berry , perfumed aroma & a long satisfying finish . A delightful wine .
Wine 3 was a beauty , at least to my palate , the By Farr 2014 Shiraz @ 13.5 % from the Geelong region of Vic . A classic Australian Shiraz with all the trimmings 1 Deeply Coloured , almost sucking the light out of the room in to it's vortex of red/ black appearance . A rich mouth filling flavour of dark fruits , earth & leather . Tannins & oak hints combining to produce a memorable finish . My wine of the day . The mouthfeel of this wine took me back to the top Hunter Shiraz wines produced in the 60" & 70"s some of which had the famous " sweaty saddle " aroma & after taste . I understand now that the aroma & taste was the result of a wine making fault , but hell, did it taste good ! Murray Tyrrell , God rest his soul , was the champion of that Hunter characteristic . To me, this wine brought on a nostalgic stroll down memory lane to the early 70's & the fun we had at the many Rothbury dinners we attended in those years . Ah, the memories , all before kids arrived , we were poor , but happy as they say .
Great times , we actually had FUN , does anyone remember that sensation !!
Final wine for the day was also excellent , a Pirra Dolcetto d'Alba 2022 @ 13.5 % . A wine that drank perfectly with the Cheese . Medium to light structure , ruby red / purple fruity & aromatic . A complex wine in terms of taste , showing wonderful integration of acid , oak & tannin , but all the time remaining unintrusive . Along with Sangiovese , I have become a convert to good Dolcetto as well . Many thanks to Nick Reynolds for putting this package together . Outstanding .
PS Those at yesterday's lunch may recall that I helped Jono Casson with the name of a book . It was " Lessons in Chemistry " by Bonnie Garmus published in 2022 . A best seller . Still in print . Read it . I thought it was one of the most entertaining books I have read in recent times .
