Global boost for outstandingly tasty steaks from Food NI members
Outstanding taste, quality and texture have earned three local meat processors, two
of them Food NI members, gold medals in the influential World Steak Challenge 2024
(WSC). The three gold winners were Food NI’s Hannan Meats, Moira and Kettyle
Irish Foods in Lisnaskea. The third winner was Foyle Food Group in Londonderry.
The trio collected awards for superb fillet, ribeye and sirloin cuts from a panel of
experts charged with selecting the very best red meat from many parts of the world.
The local processors will now be in line to win the ultimate ‘World’s Best Steak’ title
in November.
Food NI board member Peter Hannan, the founder and managing director of Hannan
Meats, a multi-award winning producer that’s famed internationally for developing the
world’s biggest Himalayan Salt Chamber for ageing meat, says: “It’s always very
encouraging to see our products rated among the world’s premium quality tastiest
steaks. We take the utmost care in producing worldclass meats that customers here
and further afield love.”
Maurice Kettyle, managing director of Kettyle Irish Foods, part of Ireland’s ABP
Group, adds: “These awards are important in terms of highlighting the quality and
innovation of our products especially those from our unique Salt Moss chamber in
Lisnaskea.”
Kettyle developed the award winning meats in collaboration with Marks and Spencer,
while Foyle’s products were processed for Tesco.
The awards coincide with a major red meat promotional campaign in Britain
highlighting the quality and benefits of eating red meat. The campaign, launched by
the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB). The current ‘Let’s Eat
Balanced campaign 2024 is building on its success last year in encouraging more
consumers to eat more beef and lamb.
Launched in 2015 to deliver a recognised stamp of quality to support world class
steak production on a global platform, the World Steak Challenge gives steak
producers from across the world a unique opportunity to benchmark product quality,
breed credentials and processing standards on the international stage.
The local winners were among 333 medals awarded at the 2024 judging. Of the
total, 112 were gold medals.
