A Queensland cattle station has played a key role in a victorious Australian entry which took the crown for world's best steak at the 2023 World Steak Challenge in the Netherlands earlier this week.
The steak was an F2 - F3 Wagyu product which originated from Tumbar Station, owned by 2022 Australian Wagyu Association's Hall of Fame inductee and Hughes Pastoral managing director, Peter Hughes.
Defeating the best from across Japan, North and South America, continental Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, the steak was entered by Jack's Creek who took home the honours for its grain-fed Wagyu cross black Angus sirloin.
Mr Hughes said he was delighted a product which was raised at Tumbar Station located between Jericho and Blackall, had been selected by Jack's Creek for the competition.
"I feel very chuffed about the win, it was a great and very pleasing surprise," Mr Hughes said.
"Jack's Creek bought cattle from us. We are fortunate they selected one of ours to be in the competition, this is the second win we have had with them.
"I think the Tumbar Station team can celebrate very justly."
"Literally on top of the world" was how Jack's Creek managing director Patrick Warmoll described the win.
"This is an amazing result, not only is it a win for Jack's Creek, it's a win for New South Wales, Queensland and for Australia," Mr Warmoll said.
"It's also a win for our customers, when people visit their restaurants and ask what steak is on the menu, they can honestly say 'the world's best'."
Mr Warmoll said the win was a "true team effort".
"The competition has been very kind to us over the past nine years," he said.
"There have only been two years when we did not win the top award or a best of category and this was in 2018 and 2020."
When asked what Jack's Creek would do for an encore, Mr Warmoll laughed and confirmed there would be no resting on laurels.
"This is the start of our hat-trick campaign," he said,
"We were pipped at the post in 2017 by a Danish company, which was disappointing, so we are on the march again."
The marble score of the winning steak was decreed MB 9+ and backgrounded at a Jack's Creek property at Breeza, NSW for 150 days, grain fed at Lemontree Feedlot owned by the McNamee Family for 407 days and processed at the Casino Food Co-Op.
This win helped Australia bring home the most gold medals, with 18 steaks from the country awarded the accolade, with Ireland having the greatest medal haul with 67 steaks awarded a gold, silver or bronze award.
A total of 346 medals were awarded to steaks at this year's World Steak Challenge, including a record 134 gold medals, with 120 steaks given silver medals and 92 steaks bronze medals.
This win for Jack's Creek is the latest for the producer at a global level, claiming the 2022 crown in the Rib-eye category and was the winner of the 2021 Best Fillet, Best Rib-Eye and Grain-Fed categories.
Restaurant editor and World Steak Challenge judge Stefan Chomka said he Jack's Creek entry rose to occasion.
"This year's competition saw the highest standard of entries yet, with a record number of gold entries, but one particular steak stood out from the pack," he said.
"Congratulations to Jack's Creek for its outstanding steak and to all the winners in the other categories.
"The global nature of this competition and the high quality of entrants demonstrates a true desire across the world to produce some top quality cuts of steak that are testament to the hard work that goes into beef production."
The World's Best Wagyu and also Asia's Best Steak went to Itoham Yonekyu Holdings for its A5 Wagyu sirloin from the Japanese Black (Kuroge Washu) breed of cattle, while The World's Best Rib-Eye was awarded to Alliance Group for its 55-day aged ribeye, with the company also taking the title of World's Best Grass-fed Steak.
The World's Best Fillet Steak and Europe's Best Steak was a 28-day aged Norland Heifer fillet from a German Rotbunte and Charolais/Limousin breed from Danish Crown
South America's Best Steak was a rib-eye from Azul Natural Beef with Creekstone Farms' Ribeye wet-aged rib-eye steak from a Black Angus breed being named North America's Best Steak.
World Steak Challenge Winners List
World's Best Steak, Oceania's Best Steak & Best Sirloin - Jack's Creek Australian Cross Breed Wagyu Sirloin
Asia's Best Steak & World's Best Wagyu Steak - Ito Wagyu A5+ Japanese Sirloin - Itoham Yonekyu Holdings
Europe's Best Steak & World's Best Fillet Steak - Norland Heifer German Fillet - Danish Crown
North America's Best Steak - Creekstone Farms Ribeye Wet Aged Steak from the USA
South America Best Steak - Argentina Signature Ribeye Steak - Azul Natural Beef
World's Best Ribeye Steak - 55-day aged Ribeye from New Zealand - Alliance Group
The winners were crowned at a special dinner on Monday November 13 at steakhouse Smith & Wollensky following a two-day judging process held in September at Vlees & Co steakhouse in Amsterdam.
Now in its ninth year, the World Steak Challenge is partnered by Irish food board Bord Bia with help from Synergy Grill, which supplied the grills on which the steaks were cooked.
Judges at this year's challenge included Richie Wilson, culinary director of FIRE Steakhouse & Bar, Ioannis Grammenos, executive chef and Meatologist of Heliot Steak House in London, Paul Foster, chef-patron of Michelin starred Salt in Stratford and GrassFed in Camden, Abdulrahman Alswailem, chef owner of Marble in Riyadh, currently ranked number 23 in MENA's Best Restaurants, and Katie Doherty, CEO at the International Meat Trade Association.
