Highlights from an amazing year at RACV Club

Go behind the doors at RACV City Club and learn more about the Club's exclusive benefits.

January

• Level 1 renovations at RACV City Club (part of a series of upgrades to modernise and enhance the two Club properties) are completed. The refurbished Gallery Lounge opens with an exhibition celebrating Victoria and Victorian artists, the first of several exhibitions highlighting the RACV Art Collection. 
• City Club's signature restaurant, the Members Dining Room, retains its “three glass rating” at the Wine List of the Year Awards. This award recognises the hard work that goes into creating and maintaining an exceptional wine list.
• City Club's four squash courts are a hidden gem in Melbourne's CBD. In January, the annual Alan Clancy Cup competiton is held, with eight teams of four-plus players competing on Wednesday nights over five weeks. The Cup has been running for 30-plus years in honour of the late Alan Clancy, a much-loved Club Member and keen squash player.

February

• Chef de Cuisine Jelena Grujovic joins forces with guest chef Leslie Chan to create an exceptional five-course meal for Lunar New Year. This dinner is a signature event on the Club calendar.
• The Valentine's Day Dinner in the Members Dining Room (another annual event) woos foodies and romantics alike. A delicate smoked eel tart and glass of Chandon is followed by two entrees: a plum tomato tartare and then a lemon sole with oysters, burnt leeks and baby capers that is paired with a Wild Earth chardonnay. Main is Bass Strait sirloin with Two Degrees 2019 pinot noir, rounded off by a heart-shaped mille feuille dessert, filled with velvety mascarpone and berries.
  
• Wine Bar Wednesdays are introduced, offering unique events in an intimate setting on Level 1 at City Club. Club Members get to meet producers and sample exceptional food and wine.

Celebrity chef Gabriel Gate oversees a French-themed dinner at Healesville Country Club & Resort every year. Image: Matt Harvey

March

• Members experience the colour, racing action and excitement of the Yarra Valley Cup in an exclusive Club marquee.
• Club Sommelier Christian Maier presents nine of his favourite Tasmanian wines, excellently matched by Executive Chef Jason Camillo’s four-course menu at a special dining event.
• Healesville Country Club & Resort supports RSPCA Victoria’s 150th anniversary and wombat exhibition and silent auction.

April

• The Snooker Tournament, an annual Club event since 1926, kicks off with 58 entrants. The tournament follows a knock-out format and runs until June. The winner gets their name on the honour board in City Club's Billiards Room.
• Easter is one of the busiest times of the year at Le Petit Gateau, RACV's high-end patisserie in Little Collins St bakes and sells thousands of hot cross buns. Club members enjoy a 20 per cent discount on large-sized cakes from the patisserie.
• Food guru Stephanie Alexander joins chef Annie Smithers for a talk about their culinary passions. It's one of many food-related events that are popular with Club members during the year.
• City Club Fitness Centre reintroduces Run Club, a fun way for Club members to build their speed, endurance and overall health and fitness.
• A new member interest group, Motoring Interests, kicks off with guest speaker Group Targa Australia CEO Mark Perry.  Like the Club's other member interest groups, which relate to books, film, art, solo, mahjong and squash, this is a great way to meet other Club members.

The RACV Club Mentoring Program has an abundance of success stories.

May

• Ground floor renovations at City Club are completed, offering Club members a new-look Bistro and Coffee Lounge with high-end, luxury elements.
• Club members have access to a curated range of high-quality Club-branded wines, either while dining at the Club or through the Club's retail Wine Club. In May, a sparkling wine, carefully chosen by the Club sommelier in association with Tahbilk, is added to the list.
• The RACV Club events team curates an exclusive Box Office experience for Club members to see Cinderella the Musical, which delights families with a comtemporary take on the classic tale.

June

• Fourth-generation winemaker Chester Osborn of D’Arenberg in South Australia is the guest for a special dining event. He regales the audience, while they enjoy his finest wines and a four-course meal in the Members Dining Room.
• Sanguine Estate’s Mark Hunter teaches Club members how to blend red wine at a fun event in the Wine Cellar that includes canapes and drinks. They get to take home three bottles of Sanguine Estate shiraz, plus a bottle of their own blend. 
• Club Members who are looking to invest in their professional and personal growth join the free 14-week structured Club Mentoring Program, which pairs experienced individuals with young professionals.
• The Club's perennially popular cooking classes for preschoolers, primary school-aged children and teenagers book out for the school holidays.

There are exclusive events like the Penfolds Grange Magnum Dinner with winemaker Peter Gago Image: Blanche Clark

July

• Club members celebrate Bastille Day with a degustation of French classics and matched wines in the Members Dining Room.
• The Club has a tradition of marking iconic sporting events with special banquets and Australian long-distance runner Steve Monehghetti is the guest speaker for a Commonwealth Games “Dine with a Champion” event. The dinner culminates with an elaborate chocolate dessert shaped like a gold medal and stamped with a Games logo. It is served with a warm passionfruit sauce that melts the surface of the dessert for dramatic effect, revealing the berries, cream and brownie beneath.
• The Members Dining Room gets a new manager, Hafez Shkair. Giving members a warm welcome, paying attention to detail and exceeding expectations are all hallmarks of his role, which he considers a passion more than a job.
• RACV Squash Section holds its annual championships.
• City Club Library marks Library and Information Week with an annual book sale and Parliament House Library Tour.

August

• Celebrity Chef Gabriel Gaté and Club Sommelier Christian Maier host the 10th annual French-themed night at Healesville Country Club & Resort: ‘A Trip to Versailles'. The sold-out event includes five courses and matched wines that reflect the feasts of 17th-century kings.
• Chef Jelena Grujovic and truffle expert Simon Friend unearth the mysteries of truffles at an entertaining wine and food event in the Wine Bar. It's part of the Club's annual celebration of the fruiting fungi at the height of truffle season.
• RACV City Club wins Superior Accommodation of the Year and Restaurant of the Year for the Members Dining Room at the 2022 Victorian Accommodation Awards for Excellence.
• Club Members attend the Sense of Place exhibition at City Club's Gallery Lounge, which features the works of two Victorian-based artists, Louise Forthun and Kathryn Ryan, who were both recipients of $10,000 RACV Visual Art Grants last year.

Club members savour an exclusive on-stage dining event with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at Hamer Hall. Image: Supplied

September

• Decadence rules at Wine Bar's Krug and caviar event, with Club members and guests trying three different types of the prestige champagne and learning that the best way to eat caviar is off the side of your hand.
• One Spa day spas at City Club and Healesville Country Club & Resort introduce LaGaia UNEDITED, a modern luxury skincare range that's part of new treatments to enhance relaxation and wellbeing.
• The first Fireside Chat, with true crime writer John Silvester, enlivens a Sunday in the Members Lounge at Healesville Country Club & Resort.
• As well as the popular cooking workshops, children enjoy a Halloween Science Workshop during the September school holidays.
• The Mentoring Finale Dinner is held to celebrate the accomplishments of those who took part in this year's Club Mentoring Program.
• The City to Surf exhibition, exploring landscape painting and photography from the RACV Art Collection, opens in the Gallery Lounge at City Club.

October

• Three top-notch whisky events are held with Tasmania's whisky guru Bill Lark, his daughter Kristy Booth-Lark, who owns and operates Killara Distillery, and John Jarvis of Hobart Distillery. As well as a whisky and gin tasting event, there is a VIP whisky-tasting experience with Bill Lark in the Wine Bar, and a four-course dinner with matched whiskies in the Members Dining Room.
• Banyalla's Private Dining Room at Healesville Country Club & Resort is the perfect setting for a degustation dinner with Steels Gate winemakers Brad Atkins and Matthew Davis.
• Steve Mifsud becomes the 2022 National Snooker Champion.
• More than 1000 people attend the RACV Travel & Experiences Expo at City Club, showing that Australians are ready to travel again and do it in style.

A commissioned artwork, REMINISCENCE 2022 by Victoria Hempstead, is unveiled at City Club. Image: Matt Harvey

November

• One hundred Club members and their guests savour an exclusive and intimate on-stage dining event with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at Hamer Hall. The entertainment includes an ensemble, pianist and choir.
• Around 120 people relish a fascinating night focused on Australia’s first Italian cookbook, with Executive Chef Jason Camillo demonstrating and discussing recipes from the book with food historian Dr Tania Cammarano.
• Penfolds Grange Magnum dinner in the Wine Cellar with winemaker Peter Gago lives up to expectations. Club Members and guests try a range of Grange Magnums and Penfolds rarities, and enjoy a perfectly paired four-course meal and exceptional Parmigiano Reggiano.

December

• In collaboration with Four Pillars distillery, RACV Club releases a premium gin with Healesville botanicals, exclusively for Club members.
• A new commissioned artwork for the City Club foyer, REMINISCENCE 2022 by Victoria Hempstead, is unveiled. The artwork consists of eight orbs depicting water crafted from stainless steel. Each pool glistens with its polished and rippled mirror finish, a metaphor for the reflective nature of water. 
• Healesville's signature restaurant Banyalla celebrates its first year following a major refurbishment of the dining venues at Healesville Country Club & Resort in 2021. Club Members get 15 per cent discount off their final bill at Banyalla when they charge it directly to their Club account. T&Cs apply.
• A Christmas village is set up and photos with Santa are arranged at City Club for Club members and their families to enjoy.
• Christmas Day celebrations are held in the Bistro and Members Dining Room and Level 17 at City Club, and at Healesville Country Club & Resort. These events are usually booked out by July each year.

RACV Club releases a premium gin in association with Four Pillars, exclusively for Club members. Image: Matt Harvey