USMEF, Texas Beef Council Train Middle East Chefs on Underutilized Cuts

Chefs representing a spectrum of food service venues ranging from leading hotels and restaurants to airline catering and culinary institutes participated in two workshops in Dubai and Abu Dhabi recently to learn more about underutilized cuts of U.S. beef and their application in a variety of foodservice settings.

Participant chefs proudly showing off their culinary creations using underutilized cuts of U.S. beef

More than 100 participants, including 74 chefs and 34 representatives of beef importers in the region, gathered for sessions organized by USMEF and funded by the Texas Beef Council with the cooperation of the U.S. Consulate General’s Office of Agricultural Affairs Dubai and the Emirates Culinary Guild.

Prominent Dubai, Abu Dhabi and UAE chefs led the program, but the stars of the event were a number of U.S. beef cuts that were introduced to many of the chefs: hanging tender, short blade, tri tip, chuck, silver side, flank and rump.

Divided into groups and tasked with developing innovative recipe ideas using each of the cuts as the key ingredient, the chefs created a variety of dishes that served as the centerpieces for the day’s lunch.

USMEF representatives Bassam Bousaleh and Eliane Elia considered the event a success on several levels in the region.

“First was the quality of the attendees," said Bousaleh. "We had chefs from top hotels including the Crowne Plaza Hotel, St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, H.H. Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan Palace, Radisson Blu Hotel, Hilton Hotel Jumeirah and others. We also welcomed 15 participants from the International Centre for Culinary Arts in Dubai and several from Emirates Flight Catering.”

Elia also noted that the hands-on training with a broad range of underutilized cuts gave the chefs and importers a clear understanding of how these beef cuts can be a good fit in a variety of culinary applications.

(Front, l. to r.) Bassam Bousaleh, AMFI Regional program manager; Mohammed Nahaz, FANTCO sales executive; Chef Uwe Micheel, president of the Emirates Culinary Guild and director of kitchens at Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai; Daya De Silva, ARAMTEC business development manager, were part of the Texas Beef Council program

“The information on cutting and cooking techniques, profit margins and the new cuts was valuable for the participants, and should help expand the use of these underutilized cuts in the Middle East, said Elia. “The participants were unanimous in their desire to participate in more sessions like this.”

The Middle East is the fourth-largest region for U.S. beef exports through the first half of 2013, purchasing 75,018 metric tons (165.4 million pounds) of product valued at $142.6 million, even though the Saudi Arabian market has remained closed to U.S. beef for the past year.