WHAT'S YOUR BEEF?:
An English chef makes a special effort to buy local, while a BC chef looks to the US.
Backyard barbecue season is here (maybe), yet despite that fact, many city dwellers prefer ordering their beef off a restaurant menu.
To accommodate the urban carnivores, two Vancouver chefs are offering something a little different in the beef department.
After moving to Vancouver from London, Chef
Warren Geraghty of
West restaurant, says there were two things he really missed. One was sunshine (Welcome to BC), and the other was long aged prime beef.
The weather wasn’t something he could do much about, but the meat he thought he could. So after a bit a searching he found a farmer (a former employee of Hills Foods) who is raising grass-fed cattle in the Fraser Valley, and who was willing to arrange for custom aging of his beef products according to Geraghty’s specific order.
So pleased was Geraghty with the results, that he is currently buying the small farm’s total annual production of four or five carcasses. Diners can now order the 60-day Custom-Aged Beef from West’s current menu. (Pictured above).
Taking into account the longer aging and the diet of the animal, we found the meat to be less gamey that we would have anticipated, yet full of flavour and also extremely tender. One word of advice to diners, however: in true Euro style, Chef Warren appears to have a preference for cooking all proteins on the rare side. (Not just the beef, but also a quail dish that we sampled, as well as a prawn, that although meant to be cured as a cerviche, was still completely translucent when served.) This may be to some diners' tastes, but if it is not yours, be sure to specify when ordering.
West is located at 2881 Granville Street, 604-738-8938.
Meanwhile, over at
Hart House at Deer Lake … For a limited time only, Chef
Dennis Peckham is offering steak lovers a chance to enjoy a 9-oz., USDA Prime New York Striploin dinner for a special price of $29.
Only 1% of all beef attains the distinction of being recognized as USDA Prime. Hence the meat is not readily available in Canada, and especially not at that sort of price.
For reservations call 604-298-4278.
