WHEN the Gambaro family cast the net and decided there was an opportunity to open a five star steakhouse near its famed seafood restaurant on Brisbane’s Caxton Street, Stanbroke’s managing director Brendan Menegazzo was ready to meet the challenge.
Brendan’s insightful pitch was that instead of buying steak from multiple wholesalers who in turn bought product from multiple processors, the Gambaro Group should partner with Stanbroke to source the entire menu for its new Black Hide Steakhouse.
His compelling argument was that it would give the restaurant a marketing edge drawing on the well-established Stanbroke brand, provide a single point of contact, but most importantly provide a platform to eliminate inconsistent dining experiences.
It was an idea that appealed to John Gambaro big time. The man who lives and breathes Queensland’s best seafood knew full well the long term prospects of the start-up five-star steak restaurant would rise or fall depend on the consistency of the high quality meals being offered.
After various taste tests a strategic partnership with Stanbroke, an Australian family owned integrated cattle and beef company, was formed. The partnership delivered consistent high quality Angus, Wagyu and certified organic products from its vertically integrated beef production system.
“Brendan put the idea to us and the advantages of having a single supplier arrangement with a company like Stanbroke were pretty obvious,” John said.
“The restaurant benefits from the absolute consistency and quality that is required. That in turn has given us an edge in the ultra competitive fine dining game.”
The Black Hide menu is impressive. Five Wagyu steaks, six Angus steaks and an organic option take are in the spotlight. The Wagyu steaks are all marble score five-plus and the Angus steaks all marble score three-plus.
The arrangement has already been well recognised by the industry and delivered a swag of awards. None the least was that Black Hide Steakhouse by Gambaro was this year named Australia’s Best Steak Restaurant. It has now won that national Savour title two out of the three years since the restaurant opened its doors. In 2014 Black Hide was also named Brisbane’s restaurant of the year.
“Our relationship with John and the Black Hide team is something everyone in the Stanbroke team is very proud of,” Brendan said.
“As a vertically integrated company we can appreciate every step of the production system and what goes in to producing a really great steak”.
“The way John and his team then turn that steak into a truly wonderful dining experience is something else again.”