Lobster lunch *****

The Canberra Day long weekend means it is time for our much anticipated annual lobster lunch at the L. family's beach house at gorgeous Rosedale.

We've been doing this for many years now and love to follow the same customs each year. The first bottle of Majella is opened at midday and we all know the fun is about to begin. Jennie says it is like travelling to a different place on Earth (where the company, environment, food and wine are perfect, and we don't have to do any of the cooking or cleaning up).
 

Chefs Jane and Louise are a class act. If they were based in a city they'd be celebrity chefs by now. They cook with great passion and integrity and are absolutely dedicated to the quality local produce of the South Coast. They are pretty adamant that they want to slow down a bit and so will/may not be able to do our lobster lunch again. We're all aware we need to make the most of this lobster lunch experience this year.

Appetizers this year are: chicken liver pate with lilli pilli jelly, blue cheese tartlets and a fresh corn flavoured amuse bouche (it's a French theme this year).

There must be no better setting for eating fresh lobster anywhere in the world! Despite the trees growing so well over the past decade - you can still see (and hear) the waves breaking on to Rosedale Beach from this deck (as well as all the local bird life).

It's all the small details that count - the beautiful sour dough bread from Bermagui and the hand made cultured butter from Tilba Tilba cows (Australian River Cottage country)..........

 ......the Clyde River oysters (my favourite dressing was the lemon and cracked pepper granita  (thank you Judy for these pics of the oysters and lobster) .....

 ..and of course the magnificent South Coast lobsters (this year with a Pernod dressing!)

 ...and that tangy potato salad too with so many unexpected ingredients....

 and my favourite smoked eggplant and lentil salad - all served with some world

 beating Rieslings.....

It is our tradition to finish off our annual lobster feast with the current Jane & Louise version of  Bombe Alaska..........they are always magnificent......and must be so complex to make!

Jurgen has had the most recent big occasion birthday so he had the fun of cutting the Bombe...

before Jane and Louise did their wonderful magic with the flames, the brandy and the figs - YUM!

As the sun gets lower the local bird population starts to feast too: they're remarkably unafraid of our presence so close to their source of seeds.

After a wonderful long lunch those of us who have to, return to Canberra (the grapes are ripening fast on Bush's lane) while those of us able to stay try to walk off some of our feast around the spectacular rocky headlands and sandy bays of Rosedale Beach.

We are all determined to keep the essence of these lobster lunches alive in the future ...while realising we have all been so lucky to have had this connection with the brilliant Jane and Louise for all these years - long may they bring so much magic to the South Coast foodie scene!