Justin Heaven from Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise, which hosts the Darling Downs Beef Battle.

NINE leading beef brands from the region vied for honours at the sixth Darling Downs Beef Battle in Toowoomba last night, where they were put to the test by a judging panel of international chefs, along with the People’s Choice award, chosen by the 500 beef fanatics present.

The Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprises’ Darling Downs Beef Battle saw competition from nine individual brands, comprising Australian Country Choice, Grove Shorthorns, JBS, John Dee, Mort & Co, NH Foods, Rangers Valley, Stanbroke and Stockyard.

Taking out the top gong, winner of the 2023 Darling Downs Beef Battle, was Stockyard.

The winner of 2023 Darling Downs Beef Battle People’s Choice award was Stanbroke.

The Stanbroke team.

TSBE CEO Greg Bowden said the competition was a fantastic celebration of Darling Downs Beef and a wonderful opportunity for industry to gather and acknowledge our leading grain fed brands.

“This event propels our producer’s hard work beyond their gates placing it on the map, and on the plates, of national and international buyers, acclaimed culinary authorities and red meat enthusiasts.”

With sustainability a key consideration, Equipoised have been employed to make this year’s event carbon neutral. Thomas Key said extensive rigour has been applied to the pre and post event model of the expected carbon emissions across the event.

The cooking was overseen by Meat & Livestock Australia business manager and executive chef Samuel Burke.

Producing great steak ‘like an orchestra’

The winning product, Kiwami by Stockyard, was recognised for its “exquisite blend of mouthwatering flavours, tenderness, and luxurious richness, and with marble scores of 9+”,

Lachie Hart, holding trophy, with the Stockyard team and MLA executive chef Sam Burke

Stockyard’s Wagyu cattle are derived from industry leading genetics and are grain-fed for over 400 days at Kerwee Feedlot in Jondaryan.

“We are delighted to win the Beef Battle. With much of the nation’s grain fed beef production coming from the Darling Downs region, we knew we were going head-to-head with some of Australia’s finest,” Lachie Hart, Managing Director at Stockyard Beef, said.

“To produce such highly awarded beef is somewhat like being a conductor for an orchestra. It requires excellence at every point in our supply chain – our producers, processing partners, distributors and our own team work tirelessly to deliver not only exceptional beef products but also exceptional customer service to all our consumers across the globe.”

The award follows several gold medals secured by Stockyard at the Sydney Royal Fine Foods Awards earlier in the week for Kiwami by Stockyard as well as Stockyard Gold, the company’s Angus brand.

Darling Downs Beef Battle Facts:

• 540kg of premium sirloin served on the night
• With a value of approximately $30,000
• The Darling Downs is responsible for 65pc of grain-fed beef consumed in Australia
• Darling Downs cattle production and meat processing sector is worth more than $1 billion each year to the local economy