Date: Thursday 2nd September 2010
Lunch Time: 12.30 p.m for 1.00 pm start
Venue: Luke Benchmark Restaurant and Oyster Bar.
234 Princes Hwy, Sylvania Heights. Ph: 9544 6233. www.lukebenchmark.com.au
Cost: $120 Members and non Members.
Bus: no bus
RSVP: Apologies to David Melville by 8pm Monday 30 Aug.
E: melvilles@email.com T: 9543 2609 SMS: 0418 191 318
Guests are most welcome.
This Meeting: Luke Benchmark Restaurant and Oyster Bar.
A new management has taken over what we always liked as Aarons (and Menus before that), so it is fitting that we try them out. Illawarra B&B had precisely the same thought and met there just before us (quite independently). Terry Durack reviewed the new restaurant positively in the SMH on 29 June, as also did the Telegraph (Google them). Chef Luke Collins is originally from the Shire (as is wife Jill our hostess), has worked abroad for many years, returning to the likes of Summer Salt and Shipwrights (both of which we rate highly), and now in his own restaurant back home. They will be in the next Good Food guide, just one point off a hat, which is their aim. We have a minimum of 25 for them to open up especially for us with the place to ourselves, so please come along and bring guests, especially potential members as this promises to be very good. Entrée will obviously be oysters 6 ways, so if you don’t like them, please let me know by RSVP time to provide an alternative.

Last Meeting: Aug 2010: Milsons Restaurant, Kirribilli.
Thanks to George Caruana and the previous committee for this venue and another great year. 17 members and 1 guest arrived to get the AGM out of the way pronto and on to the fun stuff. Starting with Pierre Gimonnet & Fils NV Champagne (nice drop, but wisely served after the AGM) with some tasty canapés of fresh oysters with a light cucumber salsa and salmon on crispy mini-toast. Entrée from our Chef Lee Kwiez was roasted sea scallops with prawn roe bisque, celeriac remoulade and avruga caviar, accompanied by a crisp Leo Buring 2008 Clare Valley Rhine Riesling. Main course was pink roasted backstrap with cassoulet of lamb shoulder, roma beans, slow roasted tomato pearls, confit garlic and lamb jus, with side dishes of fat chips (yum), beans and green leaf salad. The masked wine was Petersons 2002 Glenesk Mudgee Cab Sav, with the Horse’s A picked up (once again) by Bryan Alexander. In a diagonal tasting (neither vertical nor horizontal) we also enjoyed comparing that to half of our cellar stock of Rosemount 2001 Hill of Grace Hunter Cab Sav (which was our reward for contributing to the B&B Convention in Sydney in 2006), and drinking excellently. Dessert of orange and almond financier (that’s what it says) with almond cannelloni and roasted ice cream, washed down with Mount Horricks 2009 Clare Cordon Cut Riesling. Good food.
So, on to Year 23. A reminder that we decided to move the November meeting back one week, to 11 Nov, to avoid the clash with celebrations for Melbourne Cup making it difficult for some members to get a second day away from the business in that week. So mark your calendar, and please try to attend as a larger group makes it much easier to negotiate with venues. Also, when rating the venue for Décor & Ambience, consider what they have done to use what view they have (not just the view itself ), what they have done to make it pleasant to be in, quiet, etc.
David Melville
Food Master

Ryan Turner - Secretary
t: 02 8543 3980
m: 0410 521 203
e: ryan@roguestudios.com.au
w: www.roguestudios.com.au