From Pasture To Plate; Young Chefs And Beef Producers Team Up

Young chefs from across the country joined forces with the next generation of cattle producers to find common ground in Canadian beef.

Participants of the Cattlemen's Young Leaders Mentorship Program and finalists of the Hawksworth Young Chef Scholarship teamed up last week to tour cattle operations in the Calgary area, followed by a chili cook-off at the Bar U Ranch.

Twenty-seven-year-old Chef, Tyler Prevette, who's originally from Calgary, works at Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar in Vancouver building on his nine year career in fine dining.

Prevette says learning more about where ingredients come from was a neat experience.

"We're so discounted in the kitchen. All we see is white walls," he said. "It's really cool to come out and see where things come from, and connect with the people who care."

Prevette says there is rapid growth in the amount of customers wanting to know where their food is sourced, however, some people remain neutral to the preference.

On Tuesday, June 11, the group toured Soderglen Ranches near Airdrie to learn about genetics and hear from the Ducks Unlimited team about cattle's beneficial relationship with grassland ecosystems.

They then traveled to a cow-calf operation near Irricana to do a pasture walk and see cows and their young out grazing.

It was then the Cattlemen's Young Leader's (CYL) turn to step outside of their comfort zones on the Wednesday with the chili cook-off.

CYL participant from Lethbridge, Allana Minchau, says one of the highlights was seeing the chefs' passion for their work.

"We have so much passion from the beef side, and to see their passion in the pot, I thought that was probably the best thing about it."

Minchau adds, the experience was also an important lesson in how to break down the message when telling the story of the Canadian Beef Industry.

"It comes so natural to us," she said. "When we were out on the tours, it was going to the basics of what is grazing?, what is a commercial cow? Trying to sort out what those basics ways are that we can communicate with our consumers."

She says she was able to glean some knowledge from the chefs who work with beef everyday about the different cuts of meat.

Executive Director of the Canadian Beef Centre of Excellence, Mathieu Paré, who worked with the chefs, and says it's important beef producers understand the appreciation for their work.

"One of the most important parts of cooking is the sourcing of excellent ingredients," he said. "Chefs depend on good suppliers and consistent quality product to deliver an excellent dining experience to their guest."

A highlight for Canadian Cattlemen's Association Youth Leadership Coordinator, Emily Ritchie, in charge of the CYL Program, was the two groups of young people bonding over a single product.

Ritchie says it opened the eyes of the young cattle producers of what happens after the animal leaves the farm.

"It was a great way to make that connection, and hopefully put some more forethought into beef producers' minds when they're helping deliver such a fantastic, high quality product to market."

The Hawksworth Young Chef Scholarship final competition will take place in Vancouver this October, and the 2018 CYL participants will be graduating from their program at the end of July.