A journey through the Davis Midwinter feast
Chef Notes by Winnie Yum, Food and Pictures by John Greiner
Aperitif
Our first course tonight is titled, “Rising Light”. This dish is inspired by those rare and beautiful moments when sunlight breaks across our horizon, painting the sky in shifting tones of pink and orange.
On the plate, a salmon crudo with yuzu ponzu is paired with a sesame and wakame crisp. The rich, buttery salmon melts on the palate, echoing the fleeting warmth of light that softens an otherwise dark and unforgiving environment.
To complement this course, we recommend the Arras Premium Cuvée, whose freshness and fine acidity lift the richness of the salmon, enhancing its delicacy and elegance.
Amuse Bouche
Our amuse-bouche tonight is called “The Vestfolds.” This dish draws inspiration from the surrounding hills, where scattered rock formations rise through an endless blanket of snow.
To complement the parsnip velouté with bacon dust, we recommend the Jim Barry Watervale Riesling. Its glacial brightness enhances the experience, evoking the sensation of cool air on the palate. On the nose, notes of citrus blossom and lime zest emerge, mirroring the crisp, clean Antarctic air that defines this landscape.
A restrained, luminous pairing—precise, refreshing, and quietly evocative of the place that surrounds us.
Entrée
Our entrée tonight is an oxtail ravioli and truffle jus, finished with parmesan. This cut of meat begins life as a tough, dense offcut - much like the expeditioners condemned to a Davis Winter. Yet, through time and pressure, enduring the station’s relentless demands, both have been reshaped by their environment to be transformed into something rich, refined and unexpectedly rewarding.
To complement this course, we recommend the Taylors Jaraman Shiraz. As with any good wine, may its richness soften the edges and gently numb the day’s torments— if only for a moment.
Palette Cleanser
Our fourth course, "Mercy," offers a light and refreshing reprieve between courses.
Like its namesake, this palate cleanser delivers a journey of surprises. An initial impression of sweetness gives way to a complex, intense, cooling experience. You may detect a larrikin-like brightness, the herbaceous lift of basil, an artistic edge, and the zest of a man who's unafraid to get his hands dirty. Finally, for some, a faint sourness may linger as the unmistakable image of Mick in his Princess Leia costume drifts back into view.
Main
Our fifth course tonight, “The Reckoning”, is a seared penguin—sorry, duck breast—served with beetroot and sweet potato.
Inspired by the annual spectacle of skuas preying upon unsuspecting penguin chicks and expeditioners wandering down Marchant's, this dish reminds us that nature can be both magnificent and merciless. The rich duck, paired with beetroot's dramatic crimson hue, captures the stark realities of the Antarctic food chain: eat, be eaten, or at least be quicker than the person next to you.
We recommend Wynns, The Siding, Cabernet Shiraz alongside this dish.
Main
Our sixth course tonight is titled "Innocence". For centuries, lamb has symbolised purity, and sacrifice. Yet this course is not a celebration of virtue—it marks its passing. Much like every expeditioner who arrives at Davis bright-eyed and optimistic, innocence proves short-lived. Months of winter, shared hardships, and station life have a way of changing us all.
We present, a lamb loin with saffron barley risotto, smoked yoghurt, and salsa verde.
The dish is best sealed with covenant blood: the Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet.
Dessert
As our evening begins to draw to a close, our seventh course is one inspired by the fragility of our collective sanity, delicately teetering on the edge throughout the long Antarctic winter.
A cardamom-scented panna cotta may appear elegant and composed, yet beneath the surface it relies on a precarious balance of cream and gelatine. Too much of either and the whole thing collapses into a curdled mess- a fitting metaphor for the Davis winter.
Tonight, it appears we have held things together. But it is only a matter of time.
To finish, a playful lift of butterscotch schnapps - sweet, nostalgic, and a little mischievous—marking the transition from feast to farewell.
Petit Fours
Ladies and Gentlemen, we have reached the final course of the night. Before I introduce our final course, I beg you to reflect on our time together tonight. This has not simply been a degustation, but a progression—of seasons, of stories, and perhaps of states of mind. We began with restraint and curiosity, moved through richness and risk, wandered into moments of discomfort, humour, and reflection, and somewhere along the way, the line between food and experience began to blur.
Each course tonight has carried its own meaning. Some playful, some solemn, some a little too close to the bone—but all of them shaped by the same place, the same people, and the same long winter that has a way of changing how things taste, and how things feel.
What’s been remarkable is not just what has been served, but what has been shared around the table: attention, laughter, and the quiet understanding that we are all, in our own ways, a long way from anywhere familiar. And so, we arrive at the end. Full, in more ways than one.
Our final course tonight, ladies and gentlemen, is a selection of petit fours crafted by chef John. They are a reminder that beauty is most often found in the smallest of things: small bites, small moments, small acts of kindness. As we move forward from here, it is quiet generosity- not grand gestures – that we offer one another which will carry us through the journey ahead. Enjoy alongside the Penfolds, Club Oak Aged Tawny.
