USMEF Collaborates with Texas Beef Council on Middle East Culinary Programs

USMEF Collaborates with Texas Beef Council on Middle East Culinary Programs

The Middle East – paced by Egypt – is one of the top volume importers of U.S. beef in the world, trailing only Mexico and Canada through the first half of 2008. Virtually all of that (96 percent) is channeled to the food service (HRI) sector, which served as the inspiration for USMEF’s Culinary Chef Initiatives in the region.

Experience has taught USMEF that chefs are a key access point in the food service industry, with their influence spreading beyond their kitchens and dining rooms. To reach this key population, USMEF has developed seminars through its Culinary Chef Initiatives to demonstrate U.S. beef’s versatility of application, profitability and merchandising opportunities to chefs. In addition, they provide an opportunity to foster growth in restaurant use of U.S. beef muscle cuts in the Middle East, which is particularly important since Russia is competing with Egypt for U.S. beef livers, emphasizing the need to familiarize chefs in the region with alternative beef cuts.

With funding provided by the Texas Beef Council, USMEF recently hosted three Culinary Chef Initiatives in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Lebanon and Egypt. Chefs relate well to other chefs, and USMEF employed three who had been trained by longtime USMEF collaborator chef Jay McCarthy. The three chefs, who understand the quality attributes and the profitable ways underutilized cuts of U.S. beef can be featured on the menus of hotels and restaurants, have become ambassadors for U.S. beef.

The three Culinary Chef seminars reached 75 chefs as well as their distributors and several culinary magazine reporters. The hands-on seminar format gave the chefs experience in working with the underutilized U.S. beef cuts selected by USMEF, providing them with the skills to bring out their distinct tenderness, flavor and versatility in their recipes.

Different cuts including beef short ribs, beef hanging tenders, briskets, flanks, top butt sirloin, shoulder clod and other cuts from the round and chuck were put into the hands of the chefs who were challenged to apply what they learned from the presentations, lectures and technical brochures/fact sheets provided by the teacher chefs and USMEF staff. After familiarizing themselves with the cuts, the chefs were encouraged to contribute innovative recipe ideas of their own. Some of their recipe creations were inspired by Texas cuisine, while others cooked the underutilized U.S. cuts in traditional and international recipes.

The seminars yielded some immediate results:

• The Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi is now a regular user of U.S. hanging tenders and short ribs. Last month its chefs cooked 300-400 kg. (660-880 pounds) of hanging tenders in a stir-fry dish which has proven very popular with diners. About 60-70 kg. (130-140 pounds) of U.S. short ribs are consumed weekly in buffets and at banquets. The hotel is also considering introducing the U.S. chuck two-piece cut for hamburgers.
• The Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel introduced U.S. hanging tenders and flat iron steaks to its menu and is negotiating a long-term purchase with more than one supplier to guarantee uninterrupted supplies. 
• Six outlets of Fuddruckers now cook hamburgers from boneless U.S. chuck, square-cut.
• Other chefs from all three markets contacted USMEF after the seminar inquiring about suppliers for the cuts they used in the sessions.
• Valuable media coverage and endorsements also sprang from the seminars. Celebrity Chef Osama El Sayed, host of the most popular cooking program on Dubai television, is going to cook U.S. beef on his show. If it could be purchased, the advertising value of that placement is $250,000.

USMEF Collaborates with Texas Beef Council on Middle East Culinary Programs

The Middle East – paced by Egypt – is one of the top volume importers of U.S. beef in the world, trailing only Mexico and Canada through the first half of 2008. Virtually all of that (96 percent) is channeled to the food service (HRI) sector, which served as the inspiration for USMEF’s Culinary Chef Initiatives in the region.

Experience has taught USMEF that chefs are a key access point in the food service industry, with their influence spreading beyond their kitchens and dining rooms. To reach this key population, USMEF has developed seminars through its Culinary Chef Initiatives to demonstrate U.S. beef’s versatility of application, profitability and merchandising opportunities to chefs. In addition, they provide an opportunity to foster growth in restaurant use of U.S. beef muscle cuts in the Middle East, which is particularly important since Russia is competing with Egypt for U.S. beef livers, emphasizing the need to familiarize chefs in the region with alternative beef cuts.

With funding provided by the Texas Beef Council, USMEF recently hosted three Culinary Chef Initiatives in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Lebanon and Egypt. Chefs relate well to other chefs, and USMEF employed three who had been trained by longtime USMEF collaborator chef Jay McCarthy. The three chefs, who understand the quality attributes and the profitable ways underutilized cuts of U.S. beef can be featured on the menus of hotels and restaurants, have become ambassadors for U.S. beef.

The three Culinary Chef seminars reached 75 chefs as well as their distributors and several culinary magazine reporters. The hands-on seminar format gave the chefs experience in working with the underutilized U.S. beef cuts selected by USMEF, providing them with the skills to bring out their distinct tenderness, flavor and versatility in their recipes.

Different cuts including beef short ribs, beef hanging tenders, briskets, flanks, top butt sirloin, shoulder clod and other cuts from the round and chuck were put into the hands of the chefs who were challenged to apply what they learned from the presentations, lectures and technical brochures/fact sheets provided by the teacher chefs and USMEF staff. After familiarizing themselves with the cuts, the chefs were encouraged to contribute innovative recipe ideas of their own. Some of their recipe creations were inspired by Texas cuisine, while others cooked the underutilized U.S. cuts in traditional and international recipes.

The seminars yielded some immediate results:

• The Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi is now a regular user of U.S. hanging tenders and short ribs. Last month its chefs cooked 300-400 kg. (660-880 pounds) of hanging tenders in a stir-fry dish which has proven very popular with diners. About 60-70 kg. (130-140 pounds) of U.S. short ribs are consumed weekly in buffets and at banquets. The hotel is also considering introducing the U.S. chuck two-piece cut for hamburgers.
• The Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel introduced U.S. hanging tenders and flat iron steaks to its menu and is negotiating a long-term purchase with more than one supplier to guarantee uninterrupted supplies. 
• Six outlets of Fuddruckers now cook hamburgers from boneless U.S. chuck, square-cut.
• Other chefs from all three markets contacted USMEF after the seminar inquiring about suppliers for the cuts they used in the sessions.
• Valuable media coverage and endorsements also sprang from the seminars. Celebrity Chef Osama El Sayed, host of the most popular cooking program on Dubai television, is going to cook U.S. beef on his show. If it could be purchased, the advertising value of that placement is $250,000.