JN Meat International retains World Steak Challenge title
The winning steak was from a grass-fed Ayrshire produced by JN Meat International and reared in Finland.
The steak won the Best Rib Eye and Best Grass-Fed categories as well as securing the overall championship title.
This is the second year running that JN Meat International of Denmark has produced a world champion. Last year, the company won the title with a Finnish Grass-fed Ayrshire sirloin.
On the winning entry, chair of judges Richie Wilson, executive head chef of host venue FIRE restaurant in Dublin, said: “This year’s winning steak was as close to perfection as you can get and I hope the winner returns next year in an effort to actually achieve perfection. The fat just rippled right through the cut to the point where it was just melting under the crust of the skin. What we got from it was close to Fois Gras, chaud froid. There was an acidic note cutting through the fat. It really was truly stunning. Food porn.”
Aidan Fortune, editor of Global Meat News added: “This year’s World Steak Challenge was the most fiercely contested yet. The winning steak was a deserved champion and it is great to have a Rib Eye winning this year. The taste was sensational, making JN Meat International a worthy winner for the second year.”
Category winners
ABP Cahir Ireland secured six golds and Ireland’s first-ever category win for Best Fillet with a grass-fed Angus Cross, reared in Limerick. ABP Cahir also won four silver and eight bronze medals.
Previous world champions, Jack’s Creek of Australia, put in yet another strong performance, securing two category titles: Best Sirloin for a pure bred grain fed Wagyu, entered by Frank Albers of Albers gmbH, Germany, and Best Grain Fed for a pure bred Wagyu Fillet, also entered by Albers gmbH. In total, Jack’s Creek won six golds.
This year’s World Steak Challenge saw more than 300 entries, a record amount, from producers in 25 different countries.
Who entered?
Entries were received from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Namibia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, the USA and Uruguay.
For a full list of winners, click here.
The World Steak Challenge 2019 is presented by Global Meat News, which is owned by William Reed Business Media, the company behind the acclaimed World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards and The International Wine Challenge. The event was supplied by Synergy Grill Technology.
