Tag Archives: Australia

Fresh meat for Wedderburn Sharp Blacks

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Six of New Zealand’s best butchers have been chosen to represent New Zealand in the 2013 Wedderburn Sharp Blacks team.

After a battle between the four remaining 2012 Wedderburn Sharp Blacks and six new challengers the best butchers overall were chosen.

The result was two new additions to the team, with all those from 2012 maintaining their positions. The 2013 team is: Paddy Kennedy, Allenton Meat Centre, Ashburton; Peter Martin, Mad Butcher Onehunga, Auckland; Peter Tuapawa, Victoria Park New World, Auckland; David Timbs, Peter Timbs Meats, Christchurch; Bruce van der Nett, Pak’nSave, Taupo; and Corey Winder, Ashby’s Fine Meats & Deli, Christchurch.

The Sharp Blacks compete annually and after two years of trans-Tasman rivalry, the new team will be competing in the first tri-nation competition  – New Zealand, Australia and Great Britain – in 2013.

Newcomers to the competition, Britain, will be raising the stakes making the 2013 test match the most competitive yet.

Competition organiser Kim Doran, from Retail Meat New Zealand, says with Britain entering the mix the competition has reached new heights for the industry.

“The test has become a highly anticipated event on the industry calendar and with the new addition of Britain things will only become more exciting.”

Building these international relationships can only be a good thing for the New Zealand meat industry,” says Doran.

Earlier this year, the current team lost by only a fraction to Australia which means the new team will be looking for redemption in 2013.

The 2013 tri-nation match will be held in Wanaka on 9 March.

Knives are sharpened for tri-nations butchery competition

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Nominations are open and soon a trial will take place for the 2013 Wedderburn Sharp Blacks. The trial will see the current team put through their paces against a team of challengers, all vying for one of the coveted five spots in the team.

For the past two years, the Wedderburn Sharp Blacks have taken on Australia in a test match, taking a side of beef and a lamb in a two-hour timeframe and turning it into a butchery display. In 2013, the test match will become a tri-nations, with Britain sending a team to compete.

Kim Doran from Retail Meat New Zealand, the competition organiser, says the contest is becoming a real highlight on the industry calendar.

“The rivalry developing in these test matches is intense. It’s all good-natured and there’s a great camaraderie developing between us and the Australians outside the match which can only be good for the industry.

“Adding the British team to the mix is an exciting prospect and is only going to add to the experience,” says Doran.

The 2013 Tri-Nations will take place on 9 March in Wanaka. Nominations for the 2013 Wedderburn Sharp Blacks close on 31 August.

Be smart: keeping consumers happy

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Keeping its consumers happy and listening to what they want has significantly improved McDonald’s business performance including financial returns, according to one of the company’s top China-based executives.

Introduced as a “good friend of New Zealand beef” at the Red Meat Sector Conference, Arron Hoyle, McDonald’s senior director and head of strategy for China and Hong Kong and a major customer for New Zealand’s lean manufacturing beef, said that the result deserved “a massive thank you to the New Zealand meat industry.”

McDonald’s had selected New Zealand and Australia as its sources of beef for the region because of the two countries’ reputations for food safety. While the US is still the largest market for the company, the company is significantly growing its presence in the APMEA countries.

In 1990, McDonald’s entered China, the fastest growing market in the world, when it opened its first store in Beijing. In 2010, it had 1,000 stores open and by 2013 will have 2,000.

All new stores will have a uniquely McDonald’s style, reflecting Chinese expectations for a modern, trendy image.

“We found that we need to ensure consistency in supply of style and expectations.”

There is no silver bullet, he went on to say. “You have to work extremely hard and to understand your consumer better than your husband or wife.”

He believes that New Zealand is well positioned to grow in Asia, particularly in China with its need to “import virtual water” due to ever growing water constraints as the country develops.

The Chinese market changes rapidly depending on the supply/demand dynamic. McDonald’s is forecasting beef growth to 7-8 million tonnes a year by 2020 and McDonald’s China demand alone to surpass 60,000 metric tonnes per annum.

McDonald’s likes to think it’s a great partner for NZ, says Hoyle, “the industry and all suppliers we partner with, we really like New Zealand beef. We don’t manage the supplier, we manage the business together in a partnership with suppliers.”

For the New Zealand beef team, it’s going to be a case of being better at the value chain, to execute against the opportunity, measure effectiveness versus efficiency and being faster than the competition to solutions.

“The data is showing us the opportunity is behind the hill. We need to work together to get there,” he said.

This article appeared in Food NZ magazine (August/September 2012).

Delivered: second Red Meat Sector Conference

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Delivered, as promised: Excellent, inspirational and thought-provoking speakers, all appearing in a packed programme for the 250 delegates attending the second Red Meat Sector conference.

Congratulations must go to the Meat Industry Association (MIA) and Beef + Lamb NZ Ltd (B+LNZ), joint organisers of this year’s well-attended Red Meat Sector Conference at Rydges Lakeland Resort hotel in Queenstown.

Alongside heartening optimism for future demand for red meat, recurrent themes were the massive potential for New Zealand of emerging markets in Asia, especially China, water issues, the need to utilise best practice, the need for all links in the chain to tell the industry’s story to the public, plus the rapid emergence of social media as a tool for communicating with consumers.

In his opening comments, MIA chairman Bill Falconer also noted that, while not as quickly as some would like, encouraging progress is being made on the Red Meat Sector Strategy and that “small starts are being made across the board.” Later in the day Rob Davison, from the B+LNZ Economic Service, outlined a number of matrices that the Economic Service is developing that will help to track progress against the strategy, and these matrices will “focus conversations, thinking and actions to drive the future”.

The Conference also saw the announcement of new Primary Growth Partnership (PGP) funding for the red meat sector, for a project to develop high-value grass-fed marbled beef, using Waygu genetics.

All the presentations were a veritable smorgasbord of information, packed with facts, statistics and views from many facets of the industry, enabling delegates to pick out what was relevant for their part of the value chain. While every single one of the speakers was passionate and eloquent about their topic, from an export food manufacturing perspective the highlights were excellent presentations from McDonald’s Arron Hoyle and vertically integrated meat processor Agri Beef’s Rick Stott from the US.

Besides the serious business, there was entertainment and laughter too. Lunch – finger food featuring B+LNZ Ambassador chef Ben Battersbury’s speciality “alternative cuts, not cheap cuts” like lamb riblets –  was amusingly heralded with witty comments from him. After dinner speaker Davey Hughes of Swazi Apparel gave an hilarious account of hunting expeditions in Africa and shared a few (tongue-in-cheek) items from his latest collection, including a new ‘mankini’.

Also noteworthy, was a significant Australian presence at the conference in the form of representatives from Meat & Livestock Australia and Aus-Meat. This put physical form to MLA’s managing director Scott Hansen’s opening comment in his presentation that “Australia sees a close collaboration with New Zealand.”

There was positive feedback from delegates, who came from all parts of the sector, including farmers, processors, equipment suppliers, researchers and media.

This article appeared in Food NZ magazine (August/September 2012). Copies of most of the conference presentations are available at www.mia.co.nz or redmeatsector.co.nz.

 

Battle of the butchers begins

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Abigail Smith

Young New Zealand butchers across the country have begun sharpening their knives in anticipation of the 2012 Alto Young Butcher and Retail Meat Industry Training Organisation (RMITO) Butcher Apprentice of the year competition.

Current RMITO Butcher Apprentice of the Year, Abigail Smith, has her sights set on the Young Butcher title after her success in the apprentice category last year.

“Last year’s win set the standard for me and only makes me eager to push myself to the limit this year and take home the big title,” says Abigail.

Entries are now open to the competition, which kicks off with a series of regional heats across New Zealand over the month of July.

The winners of each regional will go on to compete in the Grand Final, to be held on 24 August at the Viaduct Event Centre in Auckland.

During the Grand Final, the young butchers will be put through a practical exam, interview, cutting test and mystery on-stage element to determine who will walk away with the prestigious title and the prize of a study tour to Europe.

The RMITO Butcher Apprentice of the Year will win a study tour to Australia.

The competition is proudly supported by Alto, RMITO, Beef + Lamb New Zealand Inc., Dunninghams, Hellers, Kerry Ingredients, NZ Pork, Wilson Hellaby, Cabernet Foods, Natural Farm and Tegel Foods.