Making your beef shine

Or maybe it’s just the simple, unedited “like you were there” feel of this video, but I was in awe watching this short clip from our annual conference on our corporate Instagram account (click on it to play):

https://instagram.com/p/8HTXb1P3hY/?tagged=tx15

For three days last week the Certified Angus Beef ® (CAB®) brand took over the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country, and transformed it into all things high-quality beef.

Nikkie Allen, CAB assistant director of education and events, pours herself into this conference. She hopes the attendees leave knowing that “we sincerely appreciate what these licensees are doing to help make this brand a success. The CAB brand is their brand and each of us has a part in this year’s success, and has the chance to shape the future of it.”

Partners from all different corners of the country and the beef community gathered to learn, to celebrate, to be inspired….and to eat.

Adding staff and media guests, the total came out to 681 attendees. Multiply that by two breakfasts, two dinners and one lunch—that’s 3,400 or so beef meals served. Not to mention the snack breaks which featured things like meatballs and pastrami tacos, adding another 1,360.

We went through 666 pounds of CAB for the Saturday night awards banquet alone.

That night there were eight chefs supervising a kitchen crew of 50 or more. There were 157 serving the guests.

Stop and think about that. I’m not talking about an easy-to-mass-produce casserole. This crew prepared a gourmet, plated meal to a banquet room full of beef lovers. The audience included discerning diners, from trained chefs and presidents of meat companies to the cattlemen and women who raise that beef.

“Our audience knows a great meal when they have one.  Having a superior product to start with makes our job a lot easier, but it still takes months of planning,” Nikkie says. “We work alongside the culinary experts at the resort and together create a plan to showcase our beef in as many ways as possible during the event.”

From what I could tell watching the social media feed for the conference, the culinary team wowed them.

And as they sent the last plate out the door, I wonder how many of those chefs thought about you? “I wish those ranchers knew how much we care about making their product shine?”

https://instagram.com/p/8HZ2ghP3t2/?tagged=tx15

Maybe none, but that passion for the best is what connects all involved in the CAB brand.

It was a common theme among all award winners, in all categories, including our supply development honorees. To learn more about them, check out these individual stories:

• “High calling“–Tiffany Cattle Company
• “True grit with a grin“–Tokach Angus Ranch
• “The alliance angle“– Ken Conway’s GeneNet alliance
• “Quality down the tracks“–Collins Farms
• “Open gates“–Trowbridge Angus Farms

And in the meantime, I’ll be grateful that my 6 p.m. chaos is all relative.

May your bottom line be filled with Black Ink,

Miranda

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