The U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) SingaporeCulinaryTrainingCenterrecent...

The U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) Singapore Culinary Training Center recently expanded its chef training to concentrate more heavily on U.S. processed pork products such as sausages, bacon and ham, in response to a growth in their popularity.

Pre-cooked bacon, for example, is now used by almost all the five-star hotels in Singapore, and importers in Indonesia and the Philippines are also starting to import it. Singapore buyers, too, are using more raw U.S. pork in their processed pork items. USMEF recently held a joint promotion at Singapore’s Isetan Supermarket in which fresh chilled air-freighted U.S. pork was featured alongside sausages and hams made from U.S. pork. Sales of these “locally” produced U.S. pork processed items jumped from 300 kilograms per month to 1,700 kilograms per month.

In Singapore, much of the USMEF goal of educating importers and distributors about the profitability of U.S. red meat is accomplished through the USMEF Culinary Training Center.   The Culinary Training Center is charged with training chefs in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) region about various attributes of U.S. beef and pork including preparations for new cuts of meat, recipe ideas, merchandising techniques, and promoting profitability. USMEF believes that expanding the range of U.S. meat cuts and processed items for export is still the key to export expansion. Chefs who attend the prestigious classes at the Singapore facility learn about the quality attributes of select U.S. meat cuts, innovative cooking techniques and the latest trends in cuisine. The focus of the program in the past has been on using less expensive cuts of U.S. meat in regional cuisine and in developing menu placements. The addition of more processed products is another reflection of the changing face of exports away from treating U.S. beef and pork as commodity items.

Courses at the Culinary Training Center are comprehensive programs that include U.S. meat theory on production systems, USDA grading and inspection, foodservice buying specifications, and cut management and pricing.  Food sanitation, management, U.S. food trends, and menu design are also covered by the courses. Targeted meat cuts or processed items are presented along with suggested cooking techniques and hands-on cooking instruction by Sabrina Yin, USMEF chef and Asia Pacific foodservice consultant.  Participating chefs prepare meals using a targeted cut or product, which is then evaluated by the group.  Participants receive copies of reference materials including cut charts, a meat buyer’s guide, recipes, and disk copies of the U.S. Beef Cut Profit Planner and Pork Information Bureau Recipe Program.

The chefs attending are not just from Singapore but come from the whole region. Eight Philippine chefs and one importer, for example, attended a two-day seminar in late August that included cutting and cooking demonstrations on five underutilized U.S. beef cuts (top blade muscle, rib finger, short plate, heel muscle, and hanging tender) and pre-cooked bacon, U.S. pork baby back ribs, pork loin boneless and bone-in and assorted pork sausages.

Following seminars such as this, Chef Yin will conduct follow-up visits with the attendees to monitor their use of U.S. meat and offer additional technical assistance designed to encourage greater sales of U.S. beef and pork in their restaurants.   During these on-site visits, Chef Yin offers customized solutions designed to overcome specific constraints faced by the operator and demonstrate increased profitability through greater use of U.S. red meat items.  The follow-up visits also allow Chef Yin to meet with key distributors of U.S. red meat (many of whom nominate customer chefs to attend the Singapore training course) and encourage them to send sales staff with Chef Yin when she calls on their customers. 

The U.S. Meat Export Federation is the trade association responsible for developing international markets for the U.S. red meat industry and is funded by USDA, exporting companies, and the beef, pork, corn, sorghum and soybean checkoff programs.

– USMEF –

Also available for use with this release:

Photo 1: USMEF Chef Sabrina Yin demonstrates U.S. processed pork products

Photo 2: USMEF ASEAN Manager Eric Choon addressing chefs attending a seminar at the USMEF Culinary Training Center

Photo 3: Hands on training by USMEF Chef Sabrina Yin at the USMEF Culinary Training Center

Photo 4: A “graduation photo” at the USMEF Culinary Training Center