THE SET-UP:
It’s hard to imagine a world before refrigerators or a time when explorers traveled with bone china in order to prepare four-course meals in remote destinations. In celebration of these expeditions, Redwood Creek Wines and The Explorers Club is launching The Culinary Revivals Tour, a national series of adventurous food and wine events featuring the meals that sustained some of the greatest explorers of all time.

Following dinner, guests will have the chance to meet modern-day historians, who will recount inspirational tales of the renowned journeys of explorers, like Ernest Shackleton and Lewis and Clark.

THE INVITATION:
Redwood Creek Wines of California welcomes you to The Explorers Club New York City to sample delicacies from Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition paired with Redwood Creek Wines.

How exciting does this sound! Unfortunately, I had previous commitments (see my report on the equally interesting “Sustainable Seafood Dinner”) and couldn’t fly back to NYC for the event. so did the next best thing and sent my NYC counterpart.

FOLLOW-UP REPORT
Our meal, a culinary revival inspired by an original menu from The Explorers Club, archive autographed by Shackleton himself as deftly prepared under the direction of Exotic Foods
Expert Gene Rurka, a long time member of the Explorers Club whose passion for studying unconventional foods has earned him accolades as being the ‘go-to guy ‘for concoctions of unique culinary curiosities.

His specially researched menu for this event began with cubes of Argentinean Ostrich on skewers, followed by a yummy Turtle Bisque, a room temp greenish broth with nuggets of
turtle meat. I was torn between preferring the Pheasant Breast Pate over the South American Prairie Hare, and after seconds of each, it was still a toss up.

My favorite dish was the Pemmican Pudding, a tiny offering of the expedition staple, buffalo meat mixed with dried currents washed down with Redwood Creek’s 2006 Cabernet
Sauvignon. Sure must have been a tasty treat for Shackleton and his sailors after months of seal liver and Penguin stew.

Post dining we gathered to hear noted Polar Historian Dr. T. H. Baughman recount the true tale of Shackleton and his 28 brave men’s expedition to explore the desolate Antarctic. Riveted for more than an hour by this true saga involving extraordinary danger, unbelievable heroism
and a burning desire to conquer the unknown I couldn’t help thinking that maybe, if T.H. had been my professor I’d be a bit more intelligent in the history department! He finished his talk to a round of thunderous applause and I departed on my own journey… back to find more wine
and Pemmican Pud.

Caption:
An actual Explorers Club menu from 1913 that was signed by Shackleton!