By Emmy Powell
Communications Specialist
Texas chefs and foodservice professionals learned more about beef from pasture to plate through the Beef Loving Chefs Summit.
The second-annual summit, held at the Culinary Institute of America in San Antonio, was hosted by Beef Loving Chefs, a program of the Texas Beef Council.
The event brought chefs together from different sectors of foodservice like restaurants, healthcare, education and hospitality.
“We got the chefs out of the kitchen, out of their comfort zones, and we brought them into the classroom,” Chef Robert Hale, , manager of Culinary and Food Services with the Texas Beef Council, said. “We brought in agricultural professionals to come talk about their segments and about the different industry questions that chefs might have about what’s going on out in the marketplace and on the ranch.”
The chefs learned about the beef lifecycle, ranchers’ commitment to sustainability and animal welfare and how carcass quality is evaluated from beef industry experts.
The summit was interactive, allowing attendees to take part in a beef sensory panel and cutting demonstrations.
Hale noted the importance of agricultural knowledge within kitchens.
“We appreciate the producer supporting the checkoff and everything that we’re able to have,” Hale said in an interview with the Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network. “They’re out there working hard, so we educate the culinarians, all the way up from high school, all the way up until retirement to make sure that beef is at the top of their menus and always on their menus. And we’ll continue to do that as we go forward.”
Since its inception, Beef Loving Chefs has grown to include 2,500 foodservice professionals and 2,200 monthly newsletter recipients. Texas Beef Council has developed numerous ways to promote beef to this influential group and has grown the program to offer resources and professional development opportunities, including the educational summit.
“We share weekly numbers on the pricing guide and what’s going on in the market to exactly what others are doing in the marketplace,” Hale said. The program gives the chefs and foodservice professionals a look into where their beef comes from and has helped grow their understanding of Texas agriculture.
“We’re a research, education and promotion program. Those are the three things that we do. We always consider what we can do to bring to the conversation and information to them,” he said. “The great thing is we have chefs from all over the state of Texas, from different industries and segments. The groups that we work with on a large scale are really pushing a lot of product out there and selling a lot of briskets. We’re happy to give them additional education, so that they’re bringing that to their customers on a daily basis.”
To learn more about the program, visit https://beeflovingtexans.com/beef-loving-chefs/.
For more information about the Texas Beef Council and the Texas Beef Checkoff, or to sign up for the Cattle Talk e-newsletter, visit TexasBeefCheckoff.com.