IN MARKET GROWING DEMAND WHEN TURF MEETS SURF Red meat set sail when Dining out at sea MLA’s Corporate Chef P&O Australia’s Corporate Sam Burke and Retail Executive Chef Uwe Stiefel said Training Facilitator Kellyfactors such as cut and cooking Payne boarded a P&O cruise to method are an important part of help chefs put more beef and menu development on cruises. lambses for cruise ships take“Purchaon ship menus. months to plan and include a P&O Australia’s three ships are food tender process, product floating food destinations, servingsourcing and testing, as well menu around 37,000 meals a day in development,” he said. casual dining outlets and premium restaurants,e grocery list for the“For example, thincludingcelebrity chef Lukeo 1,400 differentExplorerhas uptgrillMangan’s Salt . food items, so thorough planning “Operators such as P&O influence is vital to make sure that by the the meal decisions of consumers,time the ship sets sail, nothing is so MLA aims to increase their forgotten and the products are of knowledge and use of quality redthe right quantity and quality.” meat,” Sam said. Sam and Kelly joined forces withHe said the new red meat dishes needed to be easily replicated cruise chefs on board the Pacificacross thousands of meals, using Explorer to present 12 innovativeeconomical cuts such as beef recipes using Australian red meat.brisket, beef cheeks, beef blade, They served up lamb leg and lamb shoulder, and 2.5 tonnes of beef using cooking methods such as slow braising to maximise yield. and lamb to 2,500 “Having had Sam and Kelly onboard passengers during the the cruise was an exceptional four-day cruise. experience for the culinary and restaurant teams – they learned The workshop gave culinary and a lot, including tips and cooking restaurant staff basic butchery skillstechniques and useful insights about to build their awareness of MeatAustralian red meat, especially the Standards Australia (MSA) and selected cuts we focused on during carcase utilisation, as well as thethe voyage,” Uwe said. chance to try new recipes using Uwe said the red meat dishes secondary red meat cuts. introduced as a result of the cruise “We usually deliver workshops had a great response and feedback to chefs who then take the menu from the guests. For example, inspirations back to their own passengers devoured 800 Korean kitchens, but on this cruise, webeef bao buns and around 1,000 worked alongside the culinary Philly cheesesteak sandwiches team,” Sam said. during lunch across two days. ■ “It was the ultimate pressure test, asSam Burke cruise ships are huge floating hotelsE: sburke@mla.com.au which face unique challenges when it comes to keeping thousands of pocruises.com.au passengers well fed.” 44