USMEF Chef Contests Are Powerful Tactics in Strategic Pyramid
USMEF Chef Contests Are Powerful Tactics in Strategic Pyramid
Chef contests are a key building block of a U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) strategic pyramid that builds and reinforces relationships with key influencers and potential allies within international red meat sectors. It encourages them to support policies and regulations that do not restrict imports of U.S. red meat, with emphasis on antidumping cases, product import prohibitions and proposed regulatory changes. By educating local importers and distributors on the key quality attributes of U.S. beef, as well as demonstrating (through training and promotions) its versatility of application, profitability and merchandising opportunities to foodservice and retail operators, USMEF creates a network of people with a vested interest in ensuring the continued availability of U.S. products.
Following are details on two recent USMEF chef contest promotions:
Mexico and the Caribbean: Eighth Annual Chef Contest
Fourteen chefs representing leading restaurants throughout Mexico and the Caribbean were honored last month by USMEF following a two-hour cook-off that concluded USMEF’s Eighth Annual Chef Contest in Mexico City. The winning chefs emerged victorious from a field of more than 300 who entered the competition.
Winning chefs in the Mexico/Caribbean region are:
Name
Restaurant
Location
Verman “Dezi” Banhan
Hermitage Bay
Antigua
Alexandra Maillis-Lynch
August Moon Café/Alexandra Catering Company
Bahamas
Ryan Glasson
Dunmore Beach Club
Bahamas
Athlone McCollin
Hilton Barbados
Barbados
Sanjay Leeme
Lemon Tree
Bermuda
Aaron Beltran
Peacock’s Restaurant
Cabo San Lucas
Giovanna Uguccioni
Hard Rock Café
Cabo San Lucas
Reyes Apodaca
Hard Rock Café
Cabo San Lucas
Alberto Cuautle
Dreams Hotel
Cancún
Rick Bartram
Elbow Beach
Caribbean
Imthiaz “Immi” Kader
Hilton Curaçao
Curaçao
Celso Badillo
Bosques Golf Club
Mexico City
Oscar Quiroz
Melia Hotel
Santo Domingo, D.R.
Miguel Ponce
Crown Plaza Torremar Hotel
Veracruz
The USMEF Chef Contest is interwoven through many levels of USMEF strategies and tactics in marketing U.S. beef and pork in Mexico and the Caribbean. It is a highly integrated program that reaches not only the fine diners who experience the splendid cuisine cooked by chefs of the caliber of the winners, but also retail shoppers through a unique recipe component.
The stringent conditions imposed by USMEF include creation of menu items that can then be prepared by ordinary consumers in their own homes. The recipes that win the contest end up on labels on U.S. retail meat packs featuring a picture of the chef holding the dish. Every time consumers buy a particular U.S. red meat cut, they will find a delicious, easy-to-follow prize-winning recipe for the specific cut being purchased. On a U.S. pork loin, for example, a Mexican or Caribbean consumer will find a prize-winning recipe to cook U.S. pork loin that a Bermuda chef won the USMEF chef contest with two years ago.
The contest is a bonding experience for area chefs, importers and distributors. It rewards those chefs who step up to the plate and use U.S. beef and pork on their menus. USMEF staff ensure that the chefs are buying and cooking only U.S. products. This reinforces to both chefs and importers how seriously USMEF takes their profession, their culinary arts and the place of U.S. products in fine cuisine.
The prestigious nature of the contest and the sought-after prizes associated with it have introduced many chefs to U.S. beef and pork and reinforced their use with others. USMEF Caribbean consultant Liz Wunderlich has seen many chefs go from being unaware of the origin of their product to insisting on specific U.S. beef and pork cuts from their distributors as a result of the contest. The winning chefs have historically served as expert ambassadors for U.S. beef and pork throughout the hotel and restaurant industries in Mexico and the Caribbean.
The U.S. cuts used by chefs in the contest are now universally seen at regional trade shows, and importers are induced to buy them since their customers, the chefs, can only win with U.S. cuts. It has proven to be the best way to integrate new cuts which are then promoted, with the winning recipe attached, in supermarkets. The contest also encourages chefs and, ultimately, supermarkets to emphasize the U.S. origin of the meat on the plate or in the package, thus reinforcing the quality of U.S. beef and pork products to diners and shoppers.
The finale of the Chef Contest was held at the Ambrosia Gastronomy School. Mexican chefs’ dishes were examined by five judges who chose seven winners; a different five judges chose seven Caribbean winners. On Aug. 7, the Chefs’ Contest award ceremony was held at the Four Seasons Hotel. The winning chefs received a Gastronomy Tour of New Orleans and San Francisco, a seminar at the Culinary Institute of America, $1,000, a trophy and the publishing of their winning recipes in the 8th USMEF Gastronomy Contest Book.
Japan: AJCA American Beef Culinary Challenge Cup
USMEF worked with the All Japan Chefs Association (AJCA) to conduct a U.S. beef chef contest, “The 1st American Beef Culinary Challenge Cup,” at the New Otani Hotel in Tokyo on Aug. 28. Ten teams of two chefs each from leading hotels in the Kanto area participated in the contest and created original U.S. beef dishes using high choice tenderloin and choice brisket along with other items grown or caught in the Kanto area. Their challenge was to demonstrate how well U.S. beef can be combined with local Japanese ingredients to create an outstanding meal. One goal of the competition was to educate and improve the skill and knowledge of younger chefs from leading hotels. This ensured the involvement of the top hotels and the education of the next generation of leading chefs.
Following the competition, an award ceremony was held at the New Otani Hotel. The executive chef created a special menu highlighting the taste and quality of U.S. beef for more than 120 chefs, the media, U.S. company representatives and managers from other hotels. The grand prize winners were from the French restaurant in the Tokyo New Otani, La Tour d'Argent. Second and third prizes went to Roppongi Hills and the Daiichi Hotel.
Four judges with professional licenses, including one with an international license for world chef competitions, chose the winning team, whose prize is a weeklong educational tour of the United States. The tour includes a two-day training course at the Culinary Institute of America in California and tours of leading restaurants in the area. The winners will join the winning teams from Mexico and the Caribbean.
USMEF-Japan Director Greg Hanes poses with winning chefs
The event was widely reported in about 10 trade journals and other newspapers. An additional in-depth article will appear in “Nikkei Restaurant,” one of the most popular magazines for the hotel/restaurant industry in Japan.
The AJCA is the largest association of professional chefs in Japan with 15,000 members.
Most of the hotels that competed in the Chef Contest were not currently using U.S. beef, so this contest was a great opportunity to urge the chefs to again use U.S. beef products. The high-end hotel restaurants which took part in the chef contest are very conservative about their image and USMEF has striven to convince them that using U.S. beef will not alienate their customers. The New Otani, for example, had used U.S. beef on a spot basis but, since the contest, is planning to offer it regularly.
USMEF-Japan will maintain contact with all the contestants and propose U.S. beef promotions to them. Now that the New Otani and the Grand Hyatt are offering U.S. beef on their menus, other hotels are expected to follow suit. The credibility of the New Otani and Grand Hyatt will have a significant positive impact on consumer perceptions and set an example for other hotels and restaurants to follow, raising the overall image of the product. Consumers also will read about the event and the trust the fine restaurants of Tokyo place in U.S. beef, which will give them more confidence to purchase U.S. beef items both in restaurants and in supermarkets.
USMEF is planning to conduct next year’s competition on a larger scale, extending its reach to cities outside Tokyo.
USMEF Chef Contests Are Powerful Tactics in Strategic Pyramid
Chef contests are a key building block of a U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) strategic pyramid that builds and reinforces relationships with key influencers and potential allies within international red meat sectors. It encourages them to support policies and regulations that do not restrict imports of U.S. red meat, with emphasis on antidumping cases, product import prohibitions and proposed regulatory changes. By educating local importers and distributors on the key quality attributes of U.S. beef, as well as demonstrating (through training and promotions) its versatility of application, profitability and merchandising opportunities to foodservice and retail operators, USMEF creates a network of people with a vested interest in ensuring the continued availability of U.S. products.
Following are details on two recent USMEF chef contest promotions:
Mexico and the Caribbean: Eighth Annual Chef Contest
Fourteen chefs representing leading restaurants throughout Mexico and the Caribbean were honored last month by USMEF following a two-hour cook-off that concluded USMEF’s Eighth Annual Chef Contest in Mexico City. The winning chefs emerged victorious from a field of more than 300 who entered the competition.
Winning chefs in the Mexico/Caribbean region are:
Name
Restaurant
Location
Verman “Dezi” Banhan
Hermitage Bay
Antigua
Alexandra Maillis-Lynch
August Moon Café/Alexandra Catering Company
Bahamas
Ryan Glasson
Dunmore Beach Club
Bahamas
Athlone McCollin
Hilton Barbados
Barbados
Sanjay Leeme
Lemon Tree
Bermuda
Aaron Beltran
Peacock’s Restaurant
Cabo San Lucas
Giovanna Uguccioni
Hard Rock Café
Cabo San Lucas
Reyes Apodaca
Hard Rock Café
Cabo San Lucas
Alberto Cuautle
Dreams Hotel
Cancún
Rick Bartram
Elbow Beach
Caribbean
Imthiaz “Immi” Kader
Hilton Curaçao
Curaçao
Celso Badillo
Bosques Golf Club
Mexico City
Oscar Quiroz
Melia Hotel
Santo Domingo, D.R.
Miguel Ponce
Crown Plaza Torremar Hotel
Veracruz
The USMEF Chef Contest is interwoven through many levels of USMEF strategies and tactics in marketing U.S. beef and pork in Mexico and the Caribbean. It is a highly integrated program that reaches not only the fine diners who experience the splendid cuisine cooked by chefs of the caliber of the winners, but also retail shoppers through a unique recipe component.
The stringent conditions imposed by USMEF include creation of menu items that can then be prepared by ordinary consumers in their own homes. The recipes that win the contest end up on labels on U.S. retail meat packs featuring a picture of the chef holding the dish. Every time consumers buy a particular U.S. red meat cut, they will find a delicious, easy-to-follow prize-winning recipe for the specific cut being purchased. On a U.S. pork loin, for example, a Mexican or Caribbean consumer will find a prize-winning recipe to cook U.S. pork loin that a Bermuda chef won the USMEF chef contest with two years ago.
The contest is a bonding experience for area chefs, importers and distributors. It rewards those chefs who step up to the plate and use U.S. beef and pork on their menus. USMEF staff ensure that the chefs are buying and cooking only U.S. products. This reinforces to both chefs and importers how seriously USMEF takes their profession, their culinary arts and the place of U.S. products in fine cuisine.
The prestigious nature of the contest and the sought-after prizes associated with it have introduced many chefs to U.S. beef and pork and reinforced their use with others. USMEF Caribbean consultant Liz Wunderlich has seen many chefs go from being unaware of the origin of their product to insisting on specific U.S. beef and pork cuts from their distributors as a result of the contest. The winning chefs have historically served as expert ambassadors for U.S. beef and pork throughout the hotel and restaurant industries in Mexico and the Caribbean.
The U.S. cuts used by chefs in the contest are now universally seen at regional trade shows, and importers are induced to buy them since their customers, the chefs, can only win with U.S. cuts. It has proven to be the best way to integrate new cuts which are then promoted, with the winning recipe attached, in supermarkets. The contest also encourages chefs and, ultimately, supermarkets to emphasize the U.S. origin of the meat on the plate or in the package, thus reinforcing the quality of U.S. beef and pork products to diners and shoppers.
The finale of the Chef Contest was held at the Ambrosia Gastronomy School. Mexican chefs’ dishes were examined by five judges who chose seven winners; a different five judges chose seven Caribbean winners. On Aug. 7, the Chefs’ Contest award ceremony was held at the Four Seasons Hotel. The winning chefs received a Gastronomy Tour of New Orleans and San Francisco, a seminar at the Culinary Institute of America, $1,000, a trophy and the publishing of their winning recipes in the 8th USMEF Gastronomy Contest Book.
Japan: AJCA American Beef Culinary Challenge Cup
USMEF worked with the All Japan Chefs Association (AJCA) to conduct a U.S. beef chef contest, “The 1st American Beef Culinary Challenge Cup,” at the New Otani Hotel in Tokyo on Aug. 28. Ten teams of two chefs each from leading hotels in the Kanto area participated in the contest and created original U.S. beef dishes using high choice tenderloin and choice brisket along with other items grown or caught in the Kanto area. Their challenge was to demonstrate how well U.S. beef can be combined with local Japanese ingredients to create an outstanding meal. One goal of the competition was to educate and improve the skill and knowledge of younger chefs from leading hotels. This ensured the involvement of the top hotels and the education of the next generation of leading chefs.
Following the competition, an award ceremony was held at the New Otani Hotel. The executive chef created a special menu highlighting the taste and quality of U.S. beef for more than 120 chefs, the media, U.S. company representatives and managers from other hotels. The grand prize winners were from the French restaurant in the Tokyo New Otani, La Tour d'Argent. Second and third prizes went to Roppongi Hills and the Daiichi Hotel.
Four judges with professional licenses, including one with an international license for world chef competitions, chose the winning team, whose prize is a weeklong educational tour of the United States. The tour includes a two-day training course at the Culinary Institute of America in California and tours of leading restaurants in the area. The winners will join the winning teams from Mexico and the Caribbean.
USMEF-Japan Director Greg Hanes poses with winning chefs
The event was widely reported in about 10 trade journals and other newspapers. An additional in-depth article will appear in “Nikkei Restaurant,” one of the most popular magazines for the hotel/restaurant industry in Japan.
The AJCA is the largest association of professional chefs in Japan with 15,000 members.
Most of the hotels that competed in the Chef Contest were not currently using U.S. beef, so this contest was a great opportunity to urge the chefs to again use U.S. beef products. The high-end hotel restaurants which took part in the chef contest are very conservative about their image and USMEF has striven to convince them that using U.S. beef will not alienate their customers. The New Otani, for example, had used U.S. beef on a spot basis but, since the contest, is planning to offer it regularly.
USMEF-Japan will maintain contact with all the contestants and propose U.S. beef promotions to them. Now that the New Otani and the Grand Hyatt are offering U.S. beef on their menus, other hotels are expected to follow suit. The credibility of the New Otani and Grand Hyatt will have a significant positive impact on consumer perceptions and set an example for other hotels and restaurants to follow, raising the overall image of the product. Consumers also will read about the event and the trust the fine restaurants of Tokyo place in U.S. beef, which will give them more confidence to purchase U.S. beef items both in restaurants and in supermarkets.
USMEF is planning to conduct next year’s competition on a larger scale, extending its reach to cities outside Tokyo.