OUR BEEF IN MEXICO
It’s under the spotlight
Canada’s beef export industry ground to a halt in the spring of 2003 when a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was found in a Black Angus cow from northern Alberta. The United States, Mexico and about 40 other countries immediately closed their borders to Canadian beef imports. Slaughter and inspection regulations had been rigid — the BSE was caught after all — but even more rules were put in place following the incident. And the suspected feed that potentially infected the cow was removed from the system.
Fortunately, within three months the U.S. and Mexico lifted parts of the ban on imported beef from Canada and it started to cross the borders again. Other countries soon followed suit.
HIGH-END PRODUCT
Our southern neighbours have always had a taste for Canadian beef. The Mexican market sees it as a high-end product suitable for fine restaurants and butcher shops. According to statistics provided by the Canadian Beef Centre of Excellence, Mexico imported more than 17,000 tonnes of Canadian beef in 2017. That places it as our fourth largest beef export market, taking 4.5 per cent of our export beef. (The U.S. is a strong No. 1, taking 74 per cent, followed by China and Japan.)
One of Mexico’s major hotel groups — Karisma Hotels & Resorts — has taken Canadian beef to a new level by using it as a marketing tool and bringing Canadian chefs to their El Dorado Royale resort south of Cancun for a monthly culinary series.
The El Dorado Royale is a huge, multi-level, gourmet, all-inclusive resort that sits on an exclusive mile of beach about 30 kilometres south of Cancun. At any given time there could be more than 1,500 guests on site. Guests come to the El Dorado partly for the lush climes and beautiful grounds and partly for the opportunity to dine at their 17 restaurants which range from Italian and Indian to Japanese and Mexican. And Canadian beef and chefs play a large part in that experience.
During the third week of each month the resort imports a Canadian chef to cook at a series of events. Last year some of the chefs featured were Todd Perrin from St. John’s’ Mallard Cottage, Nick Liu from Toronto’s Dai Lo, Nick Nutting from Tofino’s Wolf in the Fog and Calgarians Sean MacDonald (formerly of Market) and Rouge’s Paul Rogalski. Over the course of their individual weeks, they cooked prime cuts and burgers on the beach, held beefy cooking demos, paired beef with Jackson Family wines from Sonoma and created a gala dinner in El Dorado’s culinary theatre. In addition to the great beef, the chefs worked with super-fresh produce raised onsite in El Dorado’s greenhouses. The resort’s guests, predominantly from the U.S. and U.K., frequently gave standing ovations at the finale galas.
SHOWCASE
The Canadian Beef Culinary Series is a great showcase for both our beef and our chefs. I attended part of Nutting ’s December event and few of the guests I spoke with had any awareness of Canadian beef and the talent of our chefs. (Their thoughts on Canadian cuisine largely revolved around maple syrup and poutine.) But having sampled the food, many expressed keen interest in visiting our country.
Our chefs also enjoy the opportunity to work with their Mexican counterparts, broadening their own horizons. Rogalski calls the event “a phenomenal experience, a great event” which included the chance to meet star chef Jonatan Gomez Luna and dine at his nearby restaurant Le Chique, one of the top restaurants in the world. Le Chique, in the Azul Beach Resort, is also owned by Karisma.
The latest Calgary chefs to escape our winter and cook for a week in their shorts was the duo of Connie DeSousa and John Jackson of Charcut and Charbar. They deem the El Dorado event “amazing ” from end to end. The opportunity to promote Canadian beef, Calgary and their restaurants to an eager crowd was unparalleled.
It’s also one of the many ways Calgary chefs are currently making a mark across the country and around the world. Foreign Concept’s Jinhee Lee, winner of both the Canadian Culinary Championships and the PEI International Shellfish Festival in 2017, is appearing on this year’s Top Chef Canada. Monogram Coffee’s Ben Put will represent Canada at the upcoming World Barista Championships where he has twice finished third, and Nicole Gomes, who won the Top Chef Canada: All- Stars series, will appear on the Food Network’s Iron Chef Gauntlet Season 2 launching April 4. And there are more toplevel events featuring local chefs in the works.
Calgary chefs and Canadian products are hot these days. And Canadian beef is right at the top.