Pure South beef, venison and lamb to Singapore

Pure South is on the menu in SingaporeLeading meat processor and exporter Alliance Group is now supplying Pure South beef, venison and lamb to a restaurant  in Singapore’s iconic waterfront precinct.

The cooperative’s export brand is on the menu at Singapore’s Fern & Kiwi restaurant, an offshoot of the Lone Star bar and restaurant. The restaurant, located in a refurbished warehouse in the upmarket waterfront dining area of Clarke Quay, is the Lone Star’s first outlet outside of New Zealand.

It follows trials with Fern & Kiwi and its executive consultant chef, former New Zealand Master Chef guest Mathew Metcalfe. Metcalfe has cooked for the world’s rich and famous including Apple founder, the late Steve Jobs, and leading figures in Hollywood.

The lamb, beef and venison is sourced from farms across the country and processed at Alliance’s Group’s eight plants.

Murray Brown, general manager, marketing at Alliance Group, said Singapore is  known as a leading culinary city in Asia, which is a major area of growth for Alliance Group.

“Pure South is now well-established as an export brand after more than a decade representing Alliance Group’s products in Asia. Pure South lamb, beef and venison is New Zealand’s leading brand in many leading restaurants and top hotels throughout Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong and increasingly in the main cities in China.

“With Singapore having the world’s fourth highest income per capita, Fern & Kiwi is expected to help promote  the New Zealand brand in Asia. The quality of the cuisine is excellent and the restaurant is the perfect fit for Pure South.

“Pure South symbolises all the key elements of Alliance Group – the pure southern location, world-class technology, production techniques, the proud heritage and the very best grass-fed red meat.”

Established in 1988, Lone Star is a Kiwi institution with 21 branches across the North and South Islands. The Clarke Quay site is the first restaurant to open since the flagship outlet was destroyed in the devastating Christchurch earthquakes.

Record year for Beef and Lamb awards

Beef and Lamb Excellence Awards 2013A record number of New Zealand restaurants have been recognised for their top quality beef and lamb cuisine.

The 2013 Beef and Lamb Excellence Awards, presented by Beef + Lamb NZ Inc (B+LNZ), acknowledge consistency and quality in the preparation and presentation of beef and lamb cuisine.

Following anonymous assessments by culinary experts late last year, an impressive total of 194 restaurants nationwide received the Beef and Lamb Excellence Award, which offer an indication of supreme quality says B+LNZ Inc chief executive Rod Slater.

“If an establishment carries an Excellence Award, consumers are assured they can expect a delicious beef or lamb experience.”

Diners in New Zealand can locate Beef and Lamb Excellence Award restaurants easily, by looking for the gold-rimmed plate and window stickers. You can also find all the award-winning restaurants here.

Rump steak to biltong

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New Zealand beef rump steak makes excellent biltong, Sciencelens photographer Gerry le Roux and his wife have found. His wife made the pictured biltong – cured meat – right here in New Zealand from a “nice piece of New Zealand rump” steak. Gerry says it’s a very popular delicacy to anyone (who isn’t a vegetarian) who grew up in South Africa, as he did. “And it is (to me) a great meaty snack to nibble on as an alternative to chips or other salty snacks.”
(Photograph ©Sciencelens – used here with permission).

 

 

New videos for New Zealand venison

A new series of videos, produced for Deer Industry New Zealand, is showing British consumers how to cook New Zealand venison.Young and talented British celebrity chef Sophie Wright, a former NZ-UK Link Foundation Culinary Challenge award winner, demonstrates below how to make Venison Wellington.

Other recipes from Sophie, including Venison Ragout, Venison Pie and how to cook venison steaks perfectly, are included in the series produced by British media production company Breeze and Freeze for Deer Industry New Zealand.

All have been added to Deer Industry New Zealand’s You Tube Channel DINZVMSM, which features culinary and butchery demonstrations of New Zealand venison by executive chef Graham Brown and Michael Coughlin, amongst others.

 

Fast Fresh n Tasty

Silver Fern Farms’ lamb and venison are two of the ingredients being used in a handy dandy, recipe-to-shop smartphone application produced here in New Zealand, by Wellington-based digital media company ClickSuite.

The company’s research showed a large number of people surf the web for culinary inspiration when they are in the supermarket and are hungry for new recipe ideas to add to their average five to seven recipe repertoire. The app, which was developed with plenty of hands on consumer testing (and tasting), features local producers and introduces new recipes each season incorporating relevant produce.

Just one example of what the users see to tempt them into trying Silver Fern Farms’ retail packs of venison medallions.

“It took real vision for Silver Fern Farms to jump on board before the app was launched,”  says ClickSuite’s managing director Emily Loughnan, adding that she’s excited now that the use of the app “is truly bringing in extraordinary stats.”

Reportedly selling like hot cakes – the Fast, Fresh n Tasty app was said to be recently at the top of the Apple App Store list outselling Jamie Oliver’s and Nigella Lawson’s own – and, more importantly, being used regularly, with over 12,000 accessing it last month. Nominated for three awards in the 2012 TVNZ Marketing Awards – best new emerging business, best technology and best marketing awards – Loughnan says it’s still early days but plans are to take it global, using seasonal produce in other markets.

The NZ$5.29 app was reviewed recently at sciblogs.

 

Lining up for grass-fed beef in Japan and Korea

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chefs in Japan and Korea have been learning more about New Zealand grass-fed beef from award-winning Christchurch chef Darren Wright.

Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ)’s market manager for Japan/Korea, John Hundleby says Wright, who has been in the two countries promoting New Zealand beef to a lineup of influential chefs and media, cooked a range of beef dishes at a number of events. His offerings included beef ravioli made from short-ribs, beef tortellini and tenderloin steaks.

“Since Korean and Japanese people are far more familiar with the cooking qualities of grain-fed beef which is more common in the two markets, a highlight at these events is always the demonstration of how to cook a good grass-fed beef steak.”

Japan and Korea are important markets for New Zealand beef farmers. Japan is New Zealand’s number two beef export market by value, worth NZ$230.7million (season ending 30 September 2011) and Korea is New Zealand’s number three export beef market by value, worth $203.1 million (season ending 30 September 2011).

“Beef + Lamb New Zealand works on behalf of farmers in these markets to introduce consumers to New Zealand grass-fed beef and then to develop a preference for it,” Hundleby says.

“Working with chefs and encouraging them to use our product is an important part of getting more Japanese and Korean people to eat New Zealand beef. Influential media also have a valuable role to play in highlighting the health benefits of grass-fed beef that make it lower in fat and higher in Omega-3s than grain-fed beef.”