It is a warm evening as members and guests gather to celebrate the start of the festive season and to reflect on a COVID-19 affected year and its devastating results. While sipping on Josef Chromy Sparkling Cuvee from the Tamar Valley, Tasmania, waiters pass around canapés of spanner crab, salmon pearls & dill artfully arranged on edible curry leaves and seared yellowfin tuna, ruby grapefruit, avocado & black pepper on lavish to prepare our tastebuds for the sensory delights of the dishes to come.

 

Our host Leon Naus invites us all to sit down and once introductions are done the first dish is served, a Cherry & Riesling soup served cold with a dollop of sour cream stirred through. This dish is one that Leon has been making for the past 20 years and is a Dutch family recipe. One could be forgiven thinking that we had commenced the meal with dessert. It was a refreshing way to start with most enjoying the taste sensations. 

 

This was followed by entree of torched Hiramasa Kingfish topped with caviar, green tea and jasmine pickled cucumber.  This was perfectly matched with a Mitchell ‘Watervale’ Riesling 2019 from the Clare Valley. Main course was a pan roasted venison loin served with local root vegetables, Jerusalem artichokes finished with a cherry wine jus. We enjoyed a Collector Marked Tree Red Shiraz 2017 from the Canberra District, NSW. The full-bodied shiraz worked well with the gaminess of the venison.

 

Desert was a chef’s selection of Petit Fours arranged on the branch of a tree to resemble fruit hanging.