Sophie McCarthy, Milan Office, Bord Bia - The Irish Food Board
The Chef’s Irish Beef Club is a Bord Bia initiative which brings together some of the world’s most well renowned chefs, many of whom hold Michelin stars, who actively promote Irish beef in their high-end restaurants across Europe and further afield. Acting as ‘Irish beef’ brand ambassadors, these award-winning chefs help us to enhance the awareness and reputation of the premium nature of Irish beef throughout our export markets, enabling Bord Bia to position it as the premium product that it is.
This year on October 1st, Bord Bia and the Italian members of the Chef’s Irish Beef Club presented the media event, “A Pairing of Irish and Italian excellence”. This eventtook place in the charming setting of Ca’ Del Bosco, one of the most prestigious wineries in the region of Franciacorta. It was an opportunity to present the Chef’s Irish Beef Club and Bord Bia to editors of various Italian magazines.
There were five Italian chefs from the CIBC present for the event: Sara Conforti, Daniele Repetti, Francesco Cassarino, Andrea Fusco and Alberto Canton. They came together to create a five course menu(two appetizers, two first-courses, one second-course) and provide a unique culinary experience for the journalists. Each chef developed an original dish made with the finest raw materials sourced from their respective regions across Italy; these were then combined with the premium quality of Irish meat.
Daniele Repetti incorporated the Bertina pumpkin and porcini mushrooms from the Piacenza valleys for his dish; Alberto Canton made use of Maranello polenta and the Violina Venetian pumpkin; Sara Conforti included the two "jewels" of Tuscany: the Crete Senesi pecorino and the San Miniato Truffle; Andrea Fusco chose two typical products of Lazio: the Lazio cheek lard and the Roman pecorino. Finally, Francesco Cassarino selected the Sicilian Ancient Grains flour and the buffalo stracciatella from Ragusa, his city of origin.
Each course was paired with a glass of wine which complimented the dish and a sommelier of Ca’ Del Bosco presented each of these to the guests while explaining the reasoning behind why this pairing was chosen along with the characteristics of the wine, produced by Ca’ Del Bosco.
Founded in 2004, the Chef’s Irish Beef Club promotes irish beef for its supreme taste, tenderness and impressive supply of nutrients. We are very grateful for the continued support and partnership that we have with the chefs of CIBC, as they help to enhance our credibility and reputation on a global scale. A range of journalists from various food, lifestyle and trade magazines were present at this event. The day was a huge success with all journalists enjoying the experience and seeing first-hand the top quality and unique versatility of Irish beef prepared at the hands of expert Italian chefs. They will each be publishing articles about the Chef’s Irish Beef Club and this event in their respective magazines in the upcoming weeks.
For a closer look at the event, please see here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tmg4A-9vBUk