Bord Bia’s positioning of Irish beef as a premium product in the United Arab Emirates received a valuable endorsement in Dubai today from award winning and renowned chef, Reif Othman.
Othman became the 88th member of the club at the launch of the UAE chapter of Bod Bia’s Chefs’ Irish Beef Club (CIBC), the first outside Europe.
The Minister for Agriculture Food and the Marine Michael Creed inducted him as the chapter’s first member on day five of the trade mission to the Gulf region.
Accepting his CIBC uniform and statue of the famous Tain Bo Cualigne – The Brown Bull of Cooley – Reif said that he is looking forward to working with Bord Bia and his CIBC colleagues to showcase the finest qualities of Irish beef.
“I have visited Ireland on a number of occasions and seen first-hand the care and attention that goes into producing beef.”
The quality of your beef is due to many factors, the environment, the attention to animal welfare and the lushness of the grass but above all the pride your people take in producing stress-free beef.
Minister Creed said the value of the CIBC in legitimising the premium positioning of Irish beef was invaluable in convincing high-end food-service operators and retailers of the quality of grass-fed Irish beef.
“One of Bord Bia’s key priorities in increasing the value of Irish beef exports is to establish it as a premium product.
“I would like to thank Reif and his colleagues in the Chefs’ Irish Beef Club, perfectionists in their art, for legitimising our strategy.
“The endorsement of our beef is a result of considerable investment by all partners in our beef industry, on farms, in plants and in marketing and promotion.
“In addition, the investment by my Department to support to beef farmers and the international recognition of the independent certification, under the Beef Quality Assurance Scheme, ensure that we can safely declare our beef to be the best.”
Bord Bia CEO, Tara McCarthy welcomed Chef Reif into the CIBC and thanked him for his support of the CIBC initiative.
We established the Chefs’ Irish Beef Club in 2004 to provide a platform for the world’s top chefs to experience the quality of Irish beef, through inward visits and master-classes.
“We have 88 chefs participating in nine Chapters throughout Europe and, now, in the UAE. These members have helped us secure a premium brand for Irish beef, building partnerships with like-minded ‘A brands’ in the culinary world such as Masterchef in Italy as well as Gault Millau and Bocuse d’Or in France.”
Later this year, Bord Bia will welcome four new member chefs into the Chefs’ Irish Beef Club, UAE, and host an inward study visit to showcase the key credentials of our grass-based, sustainable beef production systems.
In total, Bord Bia will welcome 30 or so chefs, together with media, into Ireland this year.
Marking the opening of the UAE chapter of the CIBC, Chef Reif prepared a special beef dish with ingredients sourced from Irish suppliers. They included Cooleeney Cheese, Galway Bay Seafoods, John Stone Beef, K&K Produce, Kelly’s Oysters, Killowen Farm Yogurt, Scúpe Gelato and Slibh Aughty Honey.