Operations

Quality is key

Today’s consumers are savvier than ever, knowing exactly what they want from their food. In short, they know quality when they see it.

Greater knowledge of meat cuts and types means the demand placed upon suppliers is evolving. And with the millennial consumer putting pressure on breeders for more natural and organic offerings, it means cheap, mass-produced, low-quality poultry and meat is quickly going out of fashion.

“They [consumers] look for fresh products, free from hormones and artificial treatments to tenderise the meat. Simply cooked good food still is in high demand. What you cook should be understood by the guests,” asserts Mohammad Iqbal, JW’s Steakhouse’s chef de cuisine.

Dr David Beatty Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA)’s international business manager for the Middle East and North Africa region, agrees that high-quality meat is “so important in today’s world as consumers demand consistency in their eating experience”.

He says the quality in Australian meat comes from the way it is raised.

“Australian cattle, sheep and goats are predominantly grass-fed, which produces low marbling and a valuable source of omega-3, after fish. However, our industry also has the ability to produce a wide range of products thanks to our varying seasonal conditions in northern and southern Australia — from grass-fed to Wagyu, organic and free-range beef and lamb. Our meat is certainly a product of its environment.”

But as well as country of origin, what the animal is fed and the environment in which it is raised “translates directly into the quality of the food which is served on the customer’s plate,” argues Armel van Erck, Aramtec’s head of foodservice division, and Manoj Madhavan, Aramtec’s meat and poultry category manager.

Turkish restaurant Günaydın, which recently opened in Dubai, is one outlet that has gone as far as procuring its meat from its own farm in the Balikesir-Gonen region of Turkey in order to maintain consistency of quality. A spokesman said: “We protect this farm from diseases by not accepting animals from other farms. In order to offer high quality and delicious meat, we make sure that the cattle carefully raised on our own farm are cut, aged, cooked and presented in the right manner.”

Shortages and pricing issues

Of course, quality comes at a price. According to an August 2016 report from Merricks Capital, Australian cattle prices reached an all-time record high, namely due to tighter cattle availability. Aramtec says Australian mutton is likely to be challenging in terms of availability through to the end of August, and if any is available, it will be at a premium. And while Canadian beef prices are falling after reaching a 30% record high, the fall is gradual. Statistics Canada reports the average retail price for one kilogram of round steak was C$19.09 (US$14.51) in June 2015 and fell to C$18.31 ($13.92) in June 2016.

With much of the region’s meat being imported, it means food outlets are faced with additional costs on top of already high prices.

“This is a challenge for a lot of chefs in the emirate to create value for money,” says Clive Pereira, head chef at Dubai steakhouse West 14th.

“Good quality products with a good price is every chef’s dream, as a lot of joy to the customer comes through value for money pricing.”

Heavy reliance on imports also means chefs can struggle to get exactly what they want when they need it.

Brian Voelzing, The Hide’s head chef, says chefs are at the mercy of suppliers who themselves are at the mercy of logistics procedures in order to get what they want on time.

“Sometimes an item will sell all night and you run out knowing you won’t receive another delivery for three days. The opposite can happen when you order more stock thinking you’re going to sell and you don’t,” he shares.

It is not all gloom and doom, however. Such price pressures and supply shortages have forced chefs to think creatively, as MLA’s Beatty explains.

“With rising prices for red meat being experienced globally, there’s no doubt foodservice and retail trends have to adapt — exploring the versatility of alternate cuts over the traditional premium-priced ‘steaking’ cuts,” he reports.

At JW’s Steakhouse, this has resulted in the promotion of lesser known — or popular — cuts, Iqbal reveals: “Due to heavy usage of the primary cuts of beef — tenderloin, striploin and ribeye — we have experienced a shortage of supplies of these in the market in the past.

“For the JW’s Steakhouse, we had some initial challenges in getting the same brand of the full-blooded Japanese premium Wagyu beef. As the suppliers keep changing the brands, we had some issues with our offerings. We got around this by creating a menu section called the ‘steak of the month’, where we feature the best available cuts within the price range irrespective of any particular brand or origin.”

Competition is rife

Chefs having to think creatively has opened up menus far beyond what guests could have imagined. But while there is now lots on offer — not only in terms of different meats and poultry and the way they are cooked, but also the variety of cuts — individual restaurants have had to up their game to be able to stand out among competitors.

Inevitably, food outlets are putting pressure on their suppliers to offer them the best of the best.

Iqbal says the “success story” behind the entry of Australian beef into the UAE has prompted companies from neighbouring New Zealand to grow their market presence with a meat range of “equally good quality”. He tells Caterer that “this will increase competition but definitely allow more choice”.

Sara Sayed, Midamar’s director of marketing and communication, says consumers, particularly millennials, are willing to experiment, which creates a huge opportunity for poultry suppliers to introduce new items, such as bison and duck.

Competition is not necessarily negative as it promotes the education of the industry. The more restaurants that begin to educate customers on secondary cuts, for example, means less of the carcass is wasted and as a result costs to the industry are lowered.

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