Over 50 international chefs who are members of the Chefs’ Irish Beef Club (CIBC) took part in a three-day visit to Ireland this week (Monday May 13) to mark the 20th anniversary of the club.
The CIBC is a forum of leading and Michelin-starred chefs who publicly endorse Irish beef and was founded by Bord Bia in 2004.
A number of these international high-profile foodservice personnel visited John Phelan’s beef farm in Co. Kilkenny to see first-hand the farms where Irish beef is produced.
Agriland was in attendance on the day to find out more about the CIBC and what the member chefs had to say about Irish beef.
Speaking to Agriland, Dirk Mooren who is a chef and owner of two restaurants in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, recently joined the CIBC and said: “There’s quite a few old mentors of mine in this group.”
Commenting on the beef he uses in his restaurant, he said: “We use bigger cuts because we grill a lot on open flames.
“This is why the Irish beef is good for it as well because there is not too much fat inside the meat and it wont drip too much and burn the meat.”
When asked if the beef was popular with his customers, he said: “It absolutely is. It’s flying out.”
He explained the reasons for sourcing beef for his two restaurants from Ireland citing Irish weather and grass-based systems for cattle grazing as some of the reasons.
Bord Bia
Heading up the CIBC on behalf of Bord Bia is Laura Crowley, who is also the Bord Bia manager for the Netherlands.
She said: “The Chefs’ Irish Beef Club consists of a network of culinary experts in eight of our key export markets for beef.
“The markets the club operates in are Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden and the United Arab Emirates.
The CIBC leader said: “There are about 55 chefs traveling with us. It’s truly unique because all eight chapters are traveling simultaneously.
“They are all cooking at Michelin-star level or equivalent so these are at the top of their game and are also very influential in their markets so other restaurants look to them.
“We bring them to Ireland so that their experience of Irish farming and Irish beef is authentic. We don’t script what they say about Irish beef. it all comes from the heart that is really, really powerful.”
Crowley continued: “This year is a really interesting year, because as you can see now, we’re at a farm, so it’s an opportunity for the chefs to cook the farmers’ own product for him.
“We like to think about the passion, the commitment, or the skill that goes into raising the cattle is matched at the end of the chain with the passion, commitment and skill of these top chefs.”
Michelin-star chef Erik Van Loo from Rotterdam said he has been a member of the CIBC for “almost 20 years” and said he has visited Ireland “maybe nine times already”.
He explained that he has a preference for using Irish beef, saying: “The meat is more tender, juicy and flavoury” and said people like it “very much” in Holland.
The delegates in attendance at the farm walk received a tour of John Phelan’s beef farm and sampled some grass-fed beef and lamb from Dawn Meats that was cooked on the Barbeque after the farm walk.
Local artisan food producers were also in attendance with their produce on exhibition also.