I agree that it sounds like oaked mead. There are many ways you can go about it. I would personally ask him what the mead tasted like, if you don't know that it. I have used American oak in wildflower honey and in alfalfa honey. Oak chips come in various levels of toast. Most commonly: Light toasted, medium toasted, and heavy toasted. I have found that Light toasted oak makes for a slightly fruity, as in a bare hint, with a smooth mead, Medium will have some vanilla like tones and heavy will have some smoky notes just like scotch. I have not yet experimented on mixing them but I think that a mix could produce great results. Personally, I put the oak in for a couple of weeks (1 oz for 5 gal batch is good) in the secondary. Not only does it age better but a little quicker. Still, be patient on the aging.
I also go a bit light on the oak chips with it only being 2-3 weeks in the secondary after it clears and prior to bottling. The Alcohol extracts out the essences that you want and slow enough to really tell.
I haven't used French Oak and didn't like the taste of Hungarian Oak. If you try other woods I would fist check for toxicity as some woods like Cedar are actually toxic and not suitable. Hmm, a Rosewood or a Cherry wood? In combination with oak? Might be something to try. But for your "Oak Mead" I would recommend you find a nice robust honey, such as alfalfa and make a batch, then oak it. It is best, IMHO, to put the chips in a hops bag for ease of removal, but loosly pack it, not tightly. In this case quality of honey is paramount as it is your main flavor that you are altering.
Since you have brewed beer, Be patient with Mead, don't even taste it until it hits 8 months aging. The aging starts when the Mead is clear enough to read through. Remember you are going for taste and quality, not quick and ready fast. There are no hops (although you can hop it) in mead. You also do not do any boiling. You keep much of the aromatics and flavor when you just heat it up enough to melt the honey, not much more. If it's boiling, it's too much. Also, as with beer, sanitize your equipment prior to use.
Good Luck
Matrix