Meat & livestock Australia (MLA) organised on Thursday the Aussie Red Meat Ambassador Showcase with the support of the Australian Government and the Australia - ASEAN Council.
Alongside the Aussie Beef Mates and lambassadors, 24 young chefs from five-star hotels and high-end restaurants participated in the event. Split between six teams, the young chefs and Australian red meat ambassadors competed in a cooking challenge. The challenge required each team to use a secondary cut of Australian beef or lamb to curate one signature small plate. The dishes were presented to key members of the professional food service sector and demonstrated the creativity of the chefs and the versatility, flavour and quality of the Australian beef and lamb.
Guests who attended the event were the judges and voted to award a dinner at Gia restaurant, Michelin star as their favourite dish of the night. Guests deemed it to be the most innovative way to use Australian beef/lamb and were amazed the chefs could create this dish in only a two hour cooking challenge.
Nguyen Van Nguyen, head chef of Hemisphere at Sheraton hotel said before starting the cook off challenge, “this is my very first time to experience this kind of cooking. Having a chance to meet and team up with the colleagues that I have never worked with before, under a pressure of time and ingredients, would be the once in lifetime experience about teamwork and the creativity”
Before this challenge, their day started with an Aussie Meat Academy masterclass from Aussie Beef Mate K Natsasi - Lady Butcher from Thailand on how to add value through secondary cuts.
“This is a very interesting challenge and the creativity on display from young Vietnamese chefs is excellent. Using secondary cuts which are traditionally thought to be lower value, the dishes were heightened with a combination of local touch and great products. I have learnt a lot through this exchange”, said Lambassador Alysia Chan, Culinary Director of Ebbs & Flow group, Singapore.
All the red meat ambassadors have visited (or are about to visit) Australia for a paddock to plate tour of Australian beef and lamb production. Four of the Australian red meat ambassadors are from Vietnam, Chef Sam Tran – Gia Restaurant (Michelin starred restaurant), Hanoi; Chef Aeron Tran – Tomatito/Bandido/Lupin restaurants, HCMC; Chef Phan Le Anh Tu (short name just Tu), Ngoam Restaurant, Hanoi; Chef Lan Vo, Sotz Chilli Sauce, HCMC.
MLA’s Managing Director, Michael Crowley who was in attendance at the event said, “the Lambassador programme was initiated in Japan in 2015 and has since become a global programme with over 50 Lambassadors worldwide. The Aussie Beef Mates programme was initiated in 2022 and has quickly grown to include 48 Aussie beef mates worldwide. Through the Lambassador and Aussie Beef mates programmes, food professionals from around the world are empowered to share the Australian Lamb and Beef brand’s story with their global network and drive international demand. It is fantastic to see the network growing in Vietnam and the talent on display by these ambassadors and young chefs alike”.