Rod Slater
When we asked Rod Slater of Beef + Lamb New Zealand to contribute his thoughts on the year ahead for our 2015 Leaders Forum, he imparted some fascinating insights into where the industry will be heading and how his own brand will support our best chefs.
“As we look to the year ahead, in spite of some difficult trading conditions this year I feel very positive in the direction our industry is heading. After some successes in 2014, I believe that 2015 will also provide some highs for the industry but there are still some challenges ahead.
The biggest issue going forward, and which we have already faced in 2014, is supply. The global demand for protein, in particular beef and lamb, is more than likely going to remain strong. And while it is good news story for farmers, there’s no doubt about it, this will put pressure on our suppliers and those in the foodservice industry as well.
Here at Beef + Lamb New Zealand, we will continue to promote our quality, grass fed and free range situation. In fact, our new campaign centred once again on the Quality Mark, kicked off at the start of January with one of the aims being to really push this message. We’re lucky in New Zealand with our product compared to some of our overseas counterparts so we’re building on a pretty solid foundation.
We’ll tackle the above as part of our marketing activity but what’s my advice to those in the food service industry? There are big opportunities to continue with the development of secondary cuts – beef cheeks, tongues or anything that is a little different to the traditional steaks and racks. One of the biggest trends we noticed in 2014 was the use of a prime cut and secondary cut together on the same dish – a clever use of different textures.
This year also marks the 19th year of the Beef and Lamb Excellence Awards, which I’m proud to state are the longest running culinary awards in the nation and which we believe are highly regarded by those in the industry. We’ve also chosen five chefs who performed highly in the assessment process to be our 2015 Ambassador Chefs: Brad King, Bistro at The Falls Retreat in Waihi; Marc Soper, Wharekauhau Estate, Wairarapa; Ryan Tattersall, Cobar Restaurant, Wellington; Reon Hobson, Pescatore, Christchurch and Ken O’Connell, Bracken Restaurant, Dunedin.
Our ambassadors will take part in a planned calendar of events but perhaps the most exciting undertaking for each of them will be to host their own ticketed dinner as part of the ‘Ambassador Series’. We give the chefs total control over constructing their own beef and lamb menu while we take care of the promotion. It’s really a chance for each chef to showcase his ability in the kitchen but also his restaurant to consumers..”
