The Aussie Meat Academy Inspiring UK Chefs

Heliot Steakhouse – Aussie Beef Masterclass

Ioannis Grammenos, an Aussie Beef Mate and Executive Chef of Heliot Steakhouse hosted an Aussie Beef Masterclass for invited food industry guests, including; top chefs, butchers and BBQ experts on 9th September. Joind by Aaj Fernando, Executive Chef at Shoreditch House, these talented chefs demonstrated their depth of knowledge and expertise, preparing mouthwatering dishes of Aussie Beef and Lamb.

West London College students supported the chefs in the kitchen with the “mise en place” for the event. Aaj Fernando commented “having worked with the students at West London College many times…the progression of the students is magnificent.”

Education was a key part of the day and Dan Espley, Master Butcher from Provenance Butchers and Aussie Beef Mate, demonstrated the technique of breaking down a whole rump of grain-fed Australian beef. Dan demonstrated how to prepare the famous “Aussie D-Cut” of Aberdeen Black rump. A highlight was how to achieve the picanha cut from the rump. Picanha is a popular cut of beef in Brazil and has gained popularity here with its rich flavour and tender texture – perfect to BBQ Aussie style.

Australian Wagyu, prized for its marbled beef steak, is one of the most sought-after cuts. Australian Wagyu has a reputation for quality and in 2023 was awarded ’The World’s Best Steak’.

Traditionally Wagyu beef commands a premium price, Dan demonstrated how chefs can take an Aussie Wagyu featherblade and cut into flat iron steaks. The combination of premium quality Australian grain-fed Wagyu and an economical featherblade cut allows chefs to use less traditional, more affordable, cuts to elevate their menu while maximising profitability.

Emma Boughen, Meat and Livestock Australia Business Development Manager, was on hand to explain how the quality and consistency of Australian beef is achieved through sustainable, safe and responsible production standards. Emma commented; “We were really proud to share the story of Australian beef and lamb. The Australian red meat production system can guarantee excellent quality and consistency in product at every stage of the supply chain. This is clearly evident in the standard of delightful lamb chops and delicious steaks showcased in the outstanding dishes we enjoyed today.”

temper City – Meat Feast Lunch

Aussie Beef Mate Ioannis Grammenos and Chef, Alan Bird, joined temper Chef Director, David Lagonell, to showcase Australian wagyu, grain fed angus and pasture raised lamb at temper City on June 17th.

Host, David Lagonell, said “temper City is home to our biggest smoker. We dry-age our beef in purpose built dry-aging fridges that line our walls. Our open kitchen enables guests to see our butchery, smoking, grilling and all other live fire cooking going on, to showcase traditional Latin American cooking techniques. I am really happy to host this prestigious event for Meat & Livestock Australia and have been really impressed with the quality of the pasture-fed lamb today.”

Each dish on the special “Meat Feast” menu highlighted a different characteristic of the cuts of sirloin, picanha and bavette.

Stephen Edwards, Business Manager UK for Meat & Livestock Australia, said: "We are delighted to continue our partnership with The Chefs' Forum at temper in Bishopsgate. These guys know beef and lamb, and their cooking over charcoal enhances the product. We are showcasing some amazing Aussie grain-fed Angus and Wagyu as well as sensational pasture-raised lamb."

Aussie Beef Mate.

Aussie Beef Mate, Ioannis Grammenos (Heliot Steak House), looked happy with Aussie beef's quality saying, "I like the flavour of Aussie beef. The consistency of the product gives me the reassurance that I'm getting the right quality and getting exactly what I need to execute my award-winning menu at Heliot Steak House."

Chef, Alan Bird, used a 60-day wet-aged Aussie wagyu picanha which he served with chimichurri. He also had high praise for the Australian beef saying: "It's hard to describe how good this beef is. It has an incredible flavour, is beautifully marbled, and has a superb texture. With beef this good, all you need is a simple garnish, and the chimichurri just helped it along. I couldn't fault it."

City Restaurant Bristol – Women In The Food Industry (WIFI) Lunch

Aussie Beef and Lamb were proud to support top female chefs who served guests a “Meat Feast” of Australian beef dishes. With students from City of Bristol College, the city’s top female chefs crafted a delicious menu on June 10th. The leading female chefs used Australian beef cuts like 60-day aged grain fed sirloin, picanha, and bavette from Australian producer, Jack’s Creek.

Women In The Food Industry (WIFI) is a driving force championing and celebrating women in the UK food industry. The WIFI mission is to: “empower women, shine a spotlight on what they are doing for the UK food industry and build a community of women who give each other support, confidence and strength.”

Australian Chef Kasae Fraser (MasterChef:The Professionals finalist 2023) said “This was a brilliant event and I was thrilled to be asked to take part. I want to see more women in the business, and this was a great way to showcase what we’re doing in our own kitchens. Being from Australia, it’s great to see that Aussie beef is readily available in the UK and we can showcase the quality and flavour of this world-class meat.”

The five female chefs made the event a resounding success, combing high quality Aussie beef with their remarkable skills to create a “Meat Feast” of Australian beef.

Kasae Fraser made her homeland Aussie picanha tartare with 60-day aged grain fed picanha Angus from Jack’s Creek.

Lucy Bowden from The Cross Key Inn in Cornwall roasted Aussie sirloin and presented it with Parmenter potatoes, tenderstem broccoli, and red wine jus.

Freelance chef Caley Briddick turned to Sous Vide for her Aussie Featherblade with mustard almond pesto, tempura garlic mustard leaves, bone marrow brown butter hollandaise, orange peel powder, and garlic mustard flowers. The dish turned out spectacular in looks and equally delicious in taste.

Brinda Bungaroo (Brinda’s Mauritius Delights) used 60-day aged Jack’s Creek grain fed bavette Angus to create her fragrant kaila Great British Menu chef, Charlotte Vincent, made Char siu marinated Aussie bavette that she presented with maple and beef dripping butter, creamed potato, beef fat onion compote, and beef crackling.

The day was a great demonstration of top female chefs using Australian beef to create exciting and delicious recipes.

WEST LONDON COLLEGE – FINE DINING MENU DEVELOPMENT

Australian beef, especially grainfed Aussie Wagyu, is regarded as the height of fine dining. The Meat Standards Australia (MSA) grading system ensures chefs receive Australian beef of consistent quality and predictable eating experience.

Three Aussie Beef Mates and seven high end London chefs came together and developed recipes suitable for the best London restaurants.

Ioannis Grammenos, Executive Chef at Heliot Steakhouse, and Aussie Beef Mate; used Aussie sirloin and Wagyu and said,” consistency with the levels of fat and marbling, mean it’s great on taste. All the guests love it.”

Picanha, ribeye, featherblade and Angus sirloin were the Australian beef cuts being tested. Although concentrating on higher end Australian grainfed prime loin cuts and Aussie wagyu beef, Stephen Edwards, MLA Business Manager-UK, was on hand to show the chefs how they can use cheaper, secondary cuts and still create a fine dining experience. Stephen provided a masterclass on how to prepare an Australian Wagyu 8-9 featherblade into succulent, highly marbled steaks. Stephen said, “Chefs don’t have to use prime cuts just because it is fine dining. Australian beef, especially grainfed wagyu with its high marbling, provides a consistent premium eating quality, even with secondary cuts.”

Aussie Beef Mate, Graham Green (Chef Patron at Green Herring Catering) took inspiration from the masterclass and developed a vibrant dish of Aussie featherblade with roasted cauliflower & butternut squash, drizzled with houmous, pomegranate molasses and pomegranate seeds.

Darren Liew, Chef Patron at Nanyang Blossomnew has developed a restaurant menu inspired by Peranakan Chinese cuisine. He used this marriage of Singaporean and Malaysian flavours as inspiration for his Sarawak Black Pepper Aussie sirloin, blue pea rice, crispy dough and poached asparagus.

Another Aussie Beef Mate, Luciana Berry, (Top Chef Brazil Winner and International Chef Consultant) said: “All chefs should try to use Aussie beef. The quality and consistency for the chefs is the best thing ever. Now days I only use Aussie beef.”

Alan Bird - Wagyu Ribeye With Chimichurri Sauce
Alex Thiel - Braised Beef Roulade, White Asparagus, Young Carrot, Potato Puree
Daniele Cinglio - Picanha with asparagus, peas, broad beans and spring herbs. Light butter sauce with mint
Daren Liew - Sarawak Black Pepper Beef, Blue Pea Rice, Crispy Dough and Poached Asparagus
Graham Green - Green Herring's Aussie Featherblade with Roasted Caulifower and Squash
Ioannis Grammenos - Australian Sirloin with Asparagus, Aubergine Puree and Amba Sauce
Rob Grist - Seared Aussie Rib-Eye, Charred Baby leek, Celeriac Puree and Wild Garlic Salsa Verde

WEST LONDON COLLEGE – CASUAL DINING MENU DEVELOPMENT

Australian beef has excellent consistency which makes it perfect in a casual dining restaurant. The aim of this event was to engage with chef’s from across London and encourage them to work with Australian beef and develop innovative menu ideas, using cuts they may not have worked with before or, to prepare common cuts in new and original ways.

Australian beef used by the chefs on the day included, grassfed sirloin beef, South American style picanha cut, grainfed ribeye and Aussie featherblade.

The 10 London chefs that came together represented the best in London casual dining and included freelance pub chefs, Chef Patron at Omnino, Head Chef at Gordon Ramsay Burgers at Harrods, Head Chef and Sushi master, Keiko Urakawa, the founder of Two Dots and The Arches Wine Bar, and the head chefs at Bonds Mayfair, Rocket Canary Wharf, and White Haus Farringdon.

The dishes served up by the chefs and their team of West London College culinary students included a variety of beef sushi and nigiri, a classic pub rib eye steak with roast vegetables, a roast sirloin, a Brazilian-inspired dish garnished with beans, orange slices and fried plantains, beef Vietnamese rice paper rolls, a porterhouse steak with chilli and garlic fried broccolini, and a picanha with chimichurri sauce.

Chef Founder of Two Dots, Marcilio de Silva said the quality and consistency of Aussie beef made it easy in the kitchen and gave assurance that his customers will get the same great experience every time. “We had a great day cooking an amazing picanha using amazing Aussie beef. It makes my life easy as a chef,” he said.

Level 2 Student, Pyper Lee said; “it’s been a great day, we used the picanha cut which I’ve never used before and it’s been a great experience.”

Cidalia Andrade - Traditional Picanha Served with Feijao Preto 
David Jordan - ‘All Things Black Pepper’
Edison Anrango - Aussie Rib Eye Steak with Café De Paris Butter and Roasted Vegetables
Eduardo Barsotti - Picanha with Salsa Verde
Keiko Urakawa - Beef Tataki Sushi Three Ways
Lucy Bowden - Roast Sirloin, Parmentier Potatoes, Tenderstem Broccoli, Red Wine Jus
Marcilio Da Silva - Grilled Picanha, Burnt Onion, Charred Asparagus and Chimichurri
Ross Pike - Aussie Featherblade Vietnamese Beef Rice Paper Wraps
Valentina Maschio - Angus beef sirloin steak, Hasselback potato, smoked hollandaise, farro, green asparagus

Cheshire College South and West - Casual Dining Menu Development

Australian beef has excellent marbling which ensures consistent quality, enabling chefs to use cheaper primal cuts of beef to deliver high quality dishes.

Cheshire College South and West was the venue for our Casual Dining Menu Development Day, from traditional pub food to Asian inspired dishes, the full breadth of British casual dining was on show.

Aussie Beef & Lamb UK are educating UK chefs how to be cost effective in their kitchens. Stephen Edwards, Business Manager UK from Meat & Livestock Australia, and an experienced chef, was on hand to demonstrate how to breakdown a featherblade joint into flat iron steaks.

Flat iron steaks are increasingly popular choice for a tender and lean cut of beef. Australian grain fed beef, is highly marbled and delivers perfect flat iron steaks consistently.

Matthew Li, Sous Chef at Mouttram Hall, said “marbling through the graded beef – stunning”.

Chef Gary Weir Hot Buttered and The Smoking Coal is an Australian beef convert, using Australian brisket in his smokehouse because of the higher marbling that delivers a succulent product.

Commenting on the opportunity to work with leading chefs, Nathan Price, Level 3 Student, said; ”an amazing experience for us all we’ve learnt so much from them and it’s been an amazing day.”

Here is the full list of recipes (all available in our recipe finder) that were created on the day.

Nathan Price - Flat Iron Steak, Warm Asian Salad, Soy and Ginger Dressing

Kevin Kindland – Aussie Beef Sirloin with Caramelised Onion Puree

Jason Palin – Aussie Wagyu Beef Sirloin Steak with Black Bean Stew

Darren Cooper – Braised Featherblade Aussie Beef with Green Vegetables

Nathan Bate – Caramel Soy Beef Sirloin, Shiitake and Asparagus

Mattie Gajos – Beef Ribeye with Mustard Mash and Stuffed Onion Crust

West London College – Wagyu Masterclass

Australian Wagyu took centre stage on 17th April for this Wagyu masterclass. Wagyu is known worldwide for its melt-in-your-mouth texture, depth of flavour and tenderness. Wagyu refers to a breed of cattle developed in Japan, made famous in the Kobe region, that are genetically predisposed to intense marbling. Not only is the marbling intense, but so is the eating experience. ​

Australia has the second largest Wagyu herd in the world and is the largest exporter of Wagyu, even exporting Australian Wagyu to Japan. Our event partners, Trade and Investment Queensland (TIQ) are proud that some of the top Australian Wagyu producers are from Queensland.

Experienced chefs remark that Australian Wagyu is different to Japanese Wagyu, the genetics and feed regime produces a more subtle flavour. Japanese Wagyu will always command a price premium. Australian Wagyu provides UK chefs a more affordable alternative.

The Wagyu beef masterclass introduced high quality Australian Wagyu beef to chefs that may not have worked with it before. The goal was to inspire different ways of using Aussie Wagyu - different cuts and preparation methods for innovative menu ideas.

UK chefs are familiar with grass fed product, Australian Wagyu, being grain fed and highly marbled, allows cheaper cuts like featherblade and bavette to be used. For example, Aussie Wagyu featherblade, due to the marbling, can be broken down into flat iron steaks – perfect for the grill or BBQ.

Ioannis Grammenos, The Heliot Steak House, and Paul Greening, Consultant Chef, were on hand to demonstrate to the audience the versatility of the Australian Wagyu beef.

Paul Greening said, “Australian Wagyu is such a great product, they just produce such a consistent quality product.”

Ioannis Grammenos added, “What makes Wagyu different to others is the marbling, the consistency of the flavour. Australian Wagyu is different to all the other Wagyu around the world.”

With students from West London College, Ioannis and Paul prepared very varied dishes, from the very technical and sophisticated to more earthy dishes with the Aussie Wagyu being the star of the show.

A lamington, a traditional Australian cake, demonstrated the versatility of Wagyu. Using Wagyu beef dripping, Ioannis Grammenos prepared a rich and delicious lamington to surprise and delight the invited audience, including Wayne Brown, Global VP of F&B Development at Ennismore

If you are interested to learn more, the Aussie Beef and Lamb UK team are available to answer your question. Contact us here.

South & City College Birmingham - Menu Development for Asian Kitchens&lt