A cut above A restaurant is only as good as its suppliers says the chef, who waxes lyrical about Wagyu.

I’ve been crediting my suppliers on menus since the early ’80s. The reason for that is simple: I can’t source the kind of quality of food I want to serve unless those who provide it go the extra mile for me. They have always been my heroes; whether they’re raising, growing or fishing, they put their heart and soul into it.

One such supplier is David Blackmore, who is known as the father of the Wagyu industry in Australia. Not only was he one of the first people to see the industry’s potential 30 years ago, he has also consistently produced top-quality beef.

I first met David in 2006, through Anthony Puharich of Vic’s Meats. I was looking for the producer of the best Wagyu in the land to join my other meat suppliers at what I hoped would be one of the world’s best steakhouses, Rockpool Bar & Grill in Melbourne. Anthony brought a sample of Wagyu for us to taste at Rockpool in Sydney and I knew straightaway I had to have it on the menu.

I met with David on his farm on the Goulburn River in Victoria’s High Country. It’s a beautiful, peaceful place with herds of Wagyu cattle of all ages dotted around the property. We jumped into David’s 4WD and took off for a closer look at these beauties. As we drove, he told me some great stories about being a fifth-generation Australian farmer.

“My grandfather gave me my first cow when I was 10 years old as payment for the work I’d been doing on the farm,” he said. “She had a heifer, who had heifers, so I got to the stage where I had 15 cows running on his farm. When I was 16, he decided to lease me a paddock so I could have my own farm.”

In 1988, David visited Texas, where he first saw Wagyu cattle. He recalls saying to the owner, “These cattle are so ugly, I don’t know how I’m going to describe them back home.” The owner replied, “They just look like money to me, son.”

Not long afterwards, David read an article by the Australian Meat and Livestock Corporation (now Meat & Livestock Australia) reporting that if Australian farmers could increase beef quality by just one grade, exports to Japan alone would jump in value by an estimated $200 million per year. He discovered that one cross of Wagyu over traditional breeds could increase beef quality by three grades. So Wagyu became his focus. Since then, he’s done everything he can to produce the best.

When David and I got down to business, I told him the only issue was that I dry-age my meat on the premises so I needed whole carcasses from him. He said, “Well, that is a problem because I don’t have any to spare.” I’m not used to suppliers saying no to me. But I’m pretty determined so I kept at it. At last, David agreed to one carcass, which he took from an exporter’s allocation.

We spoke at length that day about the ups and downs of farming. David may have won a lot of awards and produced the best but it’s come at a cost, from floods, drought and financial crises to mad cow disease. But he loves what he does and, along with his wife, Julie, and their children, Ben and Danielle, who both work in the business, he has maintained a laser-like focus on quality.

As for us, David came to Rockpool a month into the ageing of the first body of Wagyu. From memory, he had a woodfire-grilled topside. He rang the next day. “Neil, that was amazing,” he said. “I haven’t had a steak like that before. We have to support you. I can get you two bodies next month.” Twelve years later, we take nine bodies a month and the name David Blackmore Wagyu is synonymous with Rockpool.