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Cheese Report / Author Bill Alexiou-Hucker / Food Master
The cheese report was omitted from the Lunch Report
Our Cheese master , Mark Bradford, could not attend this week’s lunch but that doesn’t mean he neglected his duties in providing the members with a very tasty Vintage Farmhouse Clothbound Cheddar, well done Mark.
The cheese was made by the Quicke family , a 14 generation, family of farmers, from Newton St . Cyres , in the Devon area. The Quickes use rotational grazing, giving the herds the opportunity to graze on grass when at its peak and ensure the milk is rich in nutrients for their cheese
The cheese is homemade on the farm and using a culture that has been unchanged for many decades. Cornish salt is added before each wheel is wrapped in cloth and the cheese is then matured fort a minimum of 24 hours
This cheddar is known for its depth in flavour , hints of salty caramel whilst keeping that classic crumbly texture.
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 .
Leigh Hall was back in the kitchen as cord for our first ‘cook-off’ for the 2025 Chef of the Year award.
He was assisted with assembly and plating by Merv Peacock and Nigel Burton.
Canapés
Tapenade on brown rice cracker with jalapeño and whole olive topping.
Guacamole on corn chip with salmon, pickled red onion and black roe.
Venison sausage with eggplant chutney and cornichon.
Bountiful canapés today with robust flavours and a touch of heat in the first two.
Main was venison with mash, beans and carrots.
Leigh marinated the venison in red wine, oil and herbs for over 48 hours; the venison was seared to medium-rare.
It was sourced from Alpine Game Meats.
The venison was presented with a glossy mashed potato, with crispy, perfectly green beans and carrots perfectly done, drizzled with honey.
The stock was superbly made with 3 kilos of beef bones, 5 kilos of venison bones,a bottle of 40-year-old tawny port,1kg of cranberries and mirepoix .
The stock reduced to an amazing sauce with layers of flavour,the mash a perfect vehicle to soak up the
sauce. It was made with butter,cream and hot English mustard.
Perfectly executed, the venison was pink,moist,easily cut and
came to the table at temperature.
Good to see many comments from the floor today praising the high quality of all aspects of today’s lunch.
Best lunch this year, someone said.
Today we saw why Leigh was a contender for Chef of the Year.
Thanks Leigh.
Cheese
Mark Bradford presented an Australian washed-rind cow’s milk cheese from Victoria.
Mountain Man is a washed-rind cheese replicating the classic Reblochon de Savoie, ideal for the classic French potato-based dish ‘Tartiflette’.
Matthieu Megard is a 3rd-generation French cheesemaker who selects the finest organic milk from family-owned dairies to make a selection of French-inspired cheeses. The small rounds are regularly washed in brine and after four weeks of maturation, they develop a light orange rind with smooth paste and a mild, creamy flavour. It was in very good condition today.
Wine Report, lunch 10th Feb 2026 from Steve O'Halloran.
Our lunch today featured some great food in the form of Venison from Leigh Hall & assorted canapes from Nigel Burton & Merv Peacock & finally a terrific Cheese from Mark Bradford. See food report for full details.
The canape wine was a Society favourite, the Pewsey Vale Riesling 2024. Yalumba acquired this old vineyard in 1961, it having been first planted in 1847. This wine has been a consistent top notch performer ever since. I have over the years drunk my bodyweight in Pewsey Vale Riesling & can honestly say I have never encountered a dud bottle. From the entry level we had today to the celebrated Contours Riesling, it is always a winner. Incidentally, my research indicates that this wine was in 1977 the first Australian wine to be bottled under screw cap. Congratulations to Yalumba for their courage & initiative in embracing the new Stelvin screw cap seal. We are all indebted to Yalumba for this. Dealing with the wine, it was as usual impeccable & fault free. Crisp, bright acidity, lovely finish. Flavours of lemon & lime abounded. A perfect aperitif wine.
Wine no 1 on the lunch list was the Willunga 100 Grenache from McLaren Vale 2024 @14.5%. Brilliant clear cherry red colour, spicy & showing some high acidity. Dry grown in the sub district of Blewett Springs. Lightish body, but strong flavours with some tannic influence. I think the wine was a little on the premature release side, another 2/3 years in bottle would help. Good structures in place for the near future.
Wine 2 on the list was another Grenache from the Master Stephen Pannell { son of Bill Pannell of Moss Wood fame }. This was an older wine, 2020, this wine has the title of "Old McDonald" & it had benefited from the extra years of bottle development. Light to medium body, very flavoursome, juicy & spicey with some tannin & peppery overtones. Dark sweet cherry on the mid palate. An excellent partner for the roast Venison. Overall, a good example of a well made Grenache, from a top winemaker. Congrats to our Wine master for bringing more Grenache into our stable of Red Wines.
Wine 3 was a beauty, the Limestone Ridge Shiraz Cabernet 2012 @14% from Lindeman's, the third part of the famous Coonawarra trio of St George, Pyrus & this wine. It gives me considerable pleasure to confirm to all our members that our own Phil Laffer was an integral part of the team from Lindeman's who planted & established the vineyard in 1967. Phil assures me he still has the calluses on his hands in testimony of how hard the job was. Well done Phil, your labours have benefited us all. Turning to the wine, the colour was still vibrant, deep purple, dark/red, no browning on the rim, a very intense wine, with flavours of stewed fruit, blackberry & chocolate. Some firm tannin & oak evident. Now at 14 yo, the wine shows no sign of slowing down, with in my view many years ahead of great drinking. A wine that grabbed your attention, powerful. My wine of the day.
Final wine for the day was again one of our Favourites, the Paolo Scavino Dolcetto 2022 @13.5%. A high quality food wine. Unobtrusive, great balance, just blends in so well with, in this instance, the beautiful washed rind cheese we were having. Those Italians sure know to make a wine that combines quality with restraint! The wine today was velvety, medium bodied, dark ruby red with flavours of blackcurrant, blueberries & cherry. Fine tannins on the palate. A really enjoyable wine, drinking so well now, plenty of good drinking ahead.
Good to be back for culinary adventures at the REX for 2026!
Our first lunch of the year saw, yet again, James Hill in the kitchen. It’s the 14th consecutive time that James has presented the opening lunch and, unsurprisingly, a full house today. This is always a keynote lunch for the year ahead, cooked to the impeccable standards for which James is renowned. Current COTY Rob Guthrie assisted with canapés.
Rob started us off with feta cheese, beetroot puree and walnuts served on a blini. Very good and enough for two rounds.
Next was James’ take on “Tuna Pringles”. These were made from tuna marinated in chives, lemon zest and EVOO, served in a humble stackable pringle crisp that is often eaten in front of the TV watching the cricket.
James also served bresaola wrapped nectarines. The salty savoury meat was an excellent pairing with the in-season sweet and juicy nectarine.
Canapes were aplenty, light and all a good match for the young Brokenwood semillon, as well as a few more odds and ends that ended up in our glasses.
Main
As he often does for the opening lunch for the year, James served us a seafood dish. This time it was baked salmon, with dill beurre blanc, snow peas, kipfler potatoes, warmed fennel and EVOO.
The salmon was baked to perfection and perfectly seared, the peas crisp and bright green, the potatoes baked to perfection and the fennel strong in aniseed. Nothing but praise from the floor for this wonderful French dish.
The baguettes were from Humble Bakery, down the road in Circular Quay.
In theme with the main, the Cheese Master selected Bûche de Lucay, a white mould goat cheese from the Loire region south-west of Paris.
This typical, French log-shaped cheese takes its name from nearby Lucay-le-Male. Fresh salted curds are covered with penicillium candidum and ripened in humid rooms to encourage the moulds to form a velvety white coat. Transported in a special ‘cloche’ to ensure the mould continues to ripen, this chevre has a dry, crumbly centre surrounded by a ring of soft ripened goat’s cheese, all blanketed in a soft velvet-like rind.
The flavour is rich and creamy with a traditional goat’s milk tang. The cheese was applauded on the day.
James accompanied the cheese with refreshing seasonal queen garnet plums.
A great start to our 2026 Tuesday lunches.
Wine report - Reviewed by Stephen O'Halloran ( President )
Our first lunch for the new year kicked off yesterday & what a beauty it was . James Hill & his sous chef Rob Guthrie presented us with some terrific canapes which were delicious & plentiful , followed by Salmon perfectly cooked , with a wonderful cheese to finish up, presented by Mark Bradford . See food report for full details .
With regard to wines for the day , we started with the canapes an excellent young Hunter Sem from 2023 ,a Brokenwood @ 11 % . We have had this wine before , last year , & at the time I was amazed how drinkable it was for such a young wine . I normally like my Hunter Sems with at least 5 years bottle age . The wine yesterday drank as before , crisp & refreshing , great acid /fruit balance delivering a rewarding finish . Hints of apple & lime , a real delight to drink . Perhaps the winemaker had in mind producing a wine for high enjoyment now , & let the future look after itself ! It will be interesting to see how the wine develops , if we can keep our hands off it !
Wine no 1 on the lunch list
Wine no 1 on the lunch list was a real cracker , a Deep Woods Estate Margaret River Chardy 2021, @ 13 % . This was really my style of Aust chardy , & I guess from comments around the room , everyone felt the same way . A deeply flavoured wine, quite intense flavour of peach & grapefruit . Creamy & smooth with a powerful clean lingering finish . Medium to full body with delightful gleaming gold colour . In my view the quintessential MR Chardy .
Deep Woods Estate was founded in 1987 in WA & has expanded since then to become a multi vineyard conglomerate with vineyards nation wide . It is now the largest producer in the MR region . This was a truly great Chardy , I hope our wine master can secure us some more . At the time of drinking yesterday , I thought that this wine was quite comparable to the Leeuwin Estate Chardy , perhaps not as elegant as the Art series , but there would not be a great deal of difference between them .
Wine no 2 on the list
Wine no 2 on the list was the Yabby Lake Pinot 2015 @ 13.5 % . This wine is highly regarded, with a sound reputation as a quality PN from the Mornington Peninsular. I felt today drinking it , we were enjoying it just in time , as in my view the wine was beginning to fade . Still had those PN flavours of ripe cherry & raspberry , silky & smooth , mild red brick colour with an enjoyable finish , but in my view the acid was beginning to drop off at the finish . Still drinking well as a 11yo PN , but definitely not one for keeping .
Wine 3
Wine 3 was a French Sav Blanc 2013 @ 13 % from Pierre Morin , a Sancerre Vielles Vignes . I was a bit apprehensive about this wine even before I had tasted a mouthful . A nearly 13 yo S/B , is it going to make the grade ? Before condemning the wine prematurely , I thought I would at least give it a try , my memory taking me back to August last year when we had a Craggy Range S/B from 2011 which was excellent . Fresh , clean, well balanced , a perfect match for the Goats Cheese then served . Bear in mind that was a 14 yo S/B .
So I suspended judgement on todays wine until I had at least tried it . I need not have bothered ! Exhausted & flabby, acid gone , a mere shadow of it's former self as a quality Sancerre which I have always liked . The difference between the French S/B & our local stuff is amazing . I do not let local S/B into the house. Anyhow this poor old thing was not " off " in the accepted sense , just too old & frail . Always sad to see when this happens .
Final wine of the day
Final wine of the day was the truly excellent Andrew Thomas Dam Block Shiraz 2018 from the Hunter @ 14.2%. 2018 vintage in the Hunter was rated 10/10 , along with the famous 2014 . This wine certainly showed it's pure class . Deep colour almost inky , medium weight, but packing huge concreated flavour, this wine was outstanding . The balance of tannin /oak & acid was perfect . A powerful , but elegant wine , it got my vote for the wine of the day . I suspect that was also the view of the majority of the 50 members in the room. The Deep Woods Chardy was lovely , but this wine was next level .
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