It is with interest - and not a little gourmand dribbling - that we note the herd of specialist steak houses mo(o)ving across the UK. Not non-descript, tourist-driven joints either. No, these are the real deal. Any chef who's worth his mustard is sharpening his Sabatier on a sirloin.
The list is long and plentiful: Gaucho Grill, Black & Blue, Goodman Steakhouse and Hawksmoor in the South through to Wildfire and Prime Cuts in Scotland; they're all focused on serving up the big and the beautiful of the beef world. Of course, the latest in this long and distinguished line-up is US super-chef Wolfgang Puck who's just opened up Cut at 45 Park Lane. He brings us the slightly artery-hardening concept of the Steak Tasting Menu (anyone longing for good old-fashioned à la carte?) - 3 small cuts of beef from across the globe, yours for £48. Otherwise take your pick from corn-fed, grass-fed, beer-massaged; Chile, New Zealand, Australia, England, USA... - all starting at around £30 a steak. Talk about cow with (globe)trotters. In fact, it seems the whole world loves a cow.
And that may be the problem. The whole world really does love a cow and it's environmental suicide. Cows contribute two-thirds of all the ammonia gas produced globally, 30% of the methane produced by Britain is produced by cattle, each one polluting just as much as a car. The developing world's growing demand for dairy and beef isn't helping and it looks like we're going to have to clear a continent just to rear cattle. Yet here we are, churning out super high-end steakhouses trumpeting the delights of every cut of cow from across the world, all of them flown in and cooked in high-energy burners to be consumed by the super rich. Anyone else see a bit of an issue?
We thought the whole idea of meat as treat quite a sustainable one. Let's eat less meat, better quality, less often. But the restaurant world, particularly those catering to the wallet-heavy, seems to be happy not to follow this, leaving their responsibilities by the wayside in pursuit of the big bucks. Something about this testosterone-fuelled gorging leaves a nasty taste in the mouth. Surely there's a way for them to bring us good-quality meat without a) excluding anyone without a banker's entertainment budget and b) without costing the earth?
So clearly we have a beef. But do you? Does the idea of a good steak place make your mouth water or does it make the inner vegetarian rise up and start to chant? Is there even a solution? While there's money to spend and demand for the product, there's going to be supply, so should we be focusing on cow super-farms? Let us know what you think!
Here here Jules a pleasure indeed and yes why vacuum packed meat from the pampas when we have our own gorgeous meat, just like the beast pictured. Cows farting, well see us eating them as a tax! just like the government do on polluting cars.
I’ve no beef. Surely the blood oozing out of a rare steak into your fresh béarnaise sauce is one of life’s great culinary pleasures. I do agree though that with perfectly good cattle and butchers in this country, there’s really no need to be shipping it in from Kobe or the Argentine pampas.
BBB . BUY BRITISH BEEF. Saves on air miles and tastes good.