The Aussie Meat Academy Inspiring UK Chefs

From sourcing the latest equipment to sharing ideas and trends in the UK hospitality sector, the Chefs’ Forum is made up of chefs whose professional expertise has been recognised in the acquisition of prestigious ‘foodie’ accolades including Michelin Stars, AA Rosettes and Good Food Guide cooking scores.

What is the Aussie Meat Academy?

The Aussie Meat Academy is a global, trade-focused program providing chefs and food industry professionals with knowledge, education and inspiration about Australian beef and lamb. The Aussie Meat Academy organize workshops and events in the UK to assist chefs in making the most of Aussie Beef and Lamb in UK restaurants.

As Headline Sponsors, Aussie Beef & Lamb UK were pleased to partner with The Chefs’ Forum to conduct in-depth focus days for invited UK chefs to learn about Australian beef and lamb.

The Aussie Meat Academy events will continue in 2024, click here to see our full list of upcoming events where we will be continuing to educate and inspire UK chefs with Aussie Beef and Lamb.

Aussie Meat Academy - Past Events

Australian Wagyu beef was featured when the Aussie Meat Academy visited South & City College Brimingham. Eight local chefs, where joined by students from the college for a butchery demonstration and Asian-inspired recipe development.

Stephen Edwards, Business Manager UK from Meat & Livestock Australia, said; “This was a top morning at South and City College Birmingham, we all learnt a great deal and I enjoyed seeing how much the students got out of it. A highlight was giving a butchery demo with marbling grade 8/9 Aussie Wagyu oyster blade or feather blade as they call it in the UK, the chefs really enjoyed learning Australian butchery techniques.”

Over half of all beef exported from Australia originates in Queensland. Aussie Beef and Lamb UK have partnered with Trade & Investment Queensland (TIQ) to demonstrate the quality, provenance, and welfare standards of Australian beef.

Australian beef is graded by highly trained and certified graders. They assess every beef carcass for various factors such as breed, meat colour, beef marbling, and fat depth. The grading system ensures UK chefs can be confident all their Aussie beef is of consistent, high quality.

Aussie Wagyu beef is renowned for its exceptional marbling, unmatched tenderness, and exquisite flavour profile. Level 2 catering student, Donna Chan from Hong Kong, said: “I tried Australian Wagyu beef, the best steak I tried – ever”.

Each of the chefs were given a different cut of Australian beef to work with; featherblade, rump, flat iron or bavette. All they had to do was come up with an Asian-inspired dish. The students from South & City College were able to join and learn from the chefs as the prepared the dishes.

Vahid Zare, Executive Chef from Yakinori (East Asian Restaurant of the Year 2023), developed a Ramen with Bavette Don that demonstrated the extra depth of flavour heavily marbled wagyu beef can bring to a simple broth.

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

Dirk De Cuyper - Asian Spiced Sirloin Steak with Sesame Lemon Mash
Aaj Fernando - Chargrilled Australian Wagyu Bavette Hacho Miso & Snake Gourd Salad
Mark Walsh - Imperial Chinese Rump of Beef with Pickled Carrots & Pak Choi
Sudipto Biswas - Japanese Gyudon Rice Bowl with Aussie Wagyu Featherblade Beef
Jordan Barnes - Thai Sticky Beef with Sticky Rice

Bradford College - Menu Development Day

Aussie Beef & Lamb UK were in Bradford, The European City of Culture 2025, on January 24th, to work with leading chefs and ambitious students at Bradford College.

Australian Beef and Lamb, all certified Halal with the highest welfare practices, were available to ensure utmost respect for the faith diets of the 25.5% Pakistani community, local in Bradford.

Wagyu featherblade, Wagyu bavette, lamb rump, lamb rack and grainfed angus sirloin were shared with the chefs for the centre piece of their recipe development. Each chef and their team of students worked to showcase the quality Australian red meat on offer.

The Lord Mayor Cllr Gerry Barker and Lady Mayoress Mrs Jean Barker attended to enjoy a wonderful buffet lunch prepared by nine top chefs and thirty students.

Scott Walker, Regional Manager EMEA Region Meat & Livestock Australia said “This is a unique opportunity under our global Aussie Meat Academy programme, to showcase the best of Australian Beef & Lamb in partnership with The Chefs’ Forum. We are very excited to be here at Bradford College for today’s menu development activity. This educational programme provides an incredible opportunity for the College’s culinary students to interact with an exceptional group of professional Chefs.

Luciana Berry, former Top Chef Brazil winner said “Australian Beef & Lamb is remarkably consistent, which is really import to us as chefs. I’m really impressed with the ratio of fat and marbling, the softness and the flavour is also unrivalled in my opinion. I recently blind-judged Aussie sirloin, ribeye and fillet as my favourites in the World Steak Challenge and they went on to win the whole competition and its clear to see why.”

The students at Bradford College benefit from training in modern, industry-standard facilities. Stephen Edwards of Meat & Livestock Australia - UK said “The Bradford College facilities are second to none, well laid out and a beautiful place for learning to cook. The interaction between chefs, keen to teach, and students enthusiastic to learn, created a great buzz – and delicious recipes!”

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

Exose Grant (Ikaro) - worked with grain-fed Angus to produce a Mini Roast Dinner
Caroline Martins (Sao Paolo / Sampa) - worked with wagyu bavette and made up a selection of three Aussie Wagyu bavette snacks
Gita Mistry (Gita Mistry Food) - used lamb racks for her chilli honey pistachio lamb chops
Luciana Berry (former Top Chef Brazil winner) - used Wagyu feather blade in her beef stew
Darren Cooper (freelance chef) - used a lamb rump in his spiced lamb bon bon
Jason Palin (Gourmet Gusto) - used wagyu bavette to make a steak tacos
Daniel Rodriguez (Fenix restaurant) - used lamb racks to make pistachio-crusted rack of lamb
Dirk de Cuyper (Saucery) - cooked a lamb rump with roast vegetables, chickpeas and a red wine sauce
Dave Lythall (freelance chef) - used grainfed Angus sirloin which he served with peas, baby onions

Aussie Meat Academy at Bem Brasil, Manchester.

Bem Brasil in Manchester’s vibrant Northern Quarter was the venue for the Aussie Meat Academy event on 8th November 2023. As a Brazilian restaurant, the chefs at Bem Brasil know the importance of high-quality beef and lamb.

Stephen Edwards of Meat & Livestock Australia - UK presented to the select group of local chefs. Stephen provided the chefs with details on the farming practices and meat processing systems that ensure Australian beef and lamb is of consistent high-quality.

According to Stephen, “The consistent high quality of Australian Beef and Lamb is important for Chefs. They want the confidence that every ribeye steak and leg of lamb will have the same excellent eating quality for every customer.”

Australian exporter, Jack’s Creek, - current holders of the ‘World’s Best Steak’ were also on hand to showcase their animal husbandry practices with focus upon the esteemed Wagyu cattle that provide the Wagyu sirloin steak that won the title.

The chefs were able to sample a wide range of meat to compare dry and wet aging, different cuts of meat and cooking styles. The meat was carved at the table by skilled pasadores (waiters who carve the meat) to ensure there was a steady supply.

West London College – Menu Development Day

Inspiring chefs with new ideas is another important part of The Aussie Meat Academy. West London College was the location for 12 local chefs to come together and use Australian beef and lamb as the inspiration to create some exciting dishes.

Stephen Edwards of Meat & Livestock Australia - UK was on hand again to provide the chefs with information on the Australian beef and lamb market. Stephen provided the chefs with information on the strict animal welfare standards in Australia and the global distribution management which ensure all the beef and lamb shipped to the UK is of the highest quality.

Following the information session, each of the chefs were provided different cuts of Aussie Beef or Aussie Lamb and a selection of other ingredients to create a hero plate.

The chefs were given 2 hours to cook their dish which was then photographed. All the finished dishes were sampled by the chefs so they could share each other’s creative inspiration.

With so many incredible chefs, there was a wide range of inspiring dishes presented. From Korean BBQ, to Tandoori and Teriyaki there was a wide use of exciting flavours. The chefs also used a wide selection of cuts including, Wagyu Ribeye Steak, Aberdeen Black Angus Bavette and Lamb Rump.

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

Saito Daichiki – Aussie beef and black mushroom rice maki grill with egg yolk sauce.

Roy Ner – Aussie Aberdeen Angus 4 ways.

Francisco Martinez – Aussie lamb rack 2-ways.

Ioannis Grammenos – Reverse seared Australian bavette with Argentinian chimichurri sauce.

Jai Shaikh – Aussie Aberdeen Black ribeye, Bombay potato terrine, penny buns and butter beans with pan jus.

Chris Woodford – Peruvian marinaded Aussie lamb with smoked quinoa.

David Lagonell – Pan roasted Aussie sirloin, green peppercorn, pickled kumquat and smoked garlic salsa.

Aaj Fernando - Grilled Aussie lamb chumps with Korean spicy BBQ sauce.

Soham Sonawane – Aussie lamb rack, potimarrow puree, grelot onion, confit Jerusalem artichoke, spiced kale, lamb lettuce & jus.

Gurpreet Dham – Rosemary, garlic and thyme marinated chumps of lamb with, soft parsley mash, asparagus, Chantenay carrots and wilted baby spinach with minted jus.

Chris Alexander – Aussie Lamb Rump Tartare and Pickles.

Jon Larden – Aussie Sirloin de Paris and Sugar Belle Tomatoes with Peppercorn Sauce.

Dirk Ce Cuper - Aussie Wagyu ribeye steak with Asian infused basmati rice and Katsu curry sauce.

Exose Grant – Teriyaki glazed Aussie Lamb Rack and charred Baby Gem lettuce.

Mark Walsh – Aussie Wagyu Sirloin with Celeriac Fondant and Red Wine Jus.

Simon Bishop – Pan-Roast Tandoori Aussie Lamb Rack, dahl and bhaji.

Richard Wainman – Texas Grilled Aussie Ribeye Steak with truffle & Stilton Croquette.

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