2005 News Archive
CONTACT: Dean Conklin 303-850-3387 dconklin@beef.org
Joe Schuele 303-850-3360 joeschuele@beef.org
Culinary R&D Conference Features New Veal Items
CENTENNIAL, COLO. (October 3, 2005) – Through a sponsorship with the Beef Checkoff Program, attendees of the Nation’s Restaurant News Culinary R&D Conference were treated to two new veal entrées. The conference was September 16-18 in Kissimmee, Fla.
Veal short ribs were featured at the conference, prepared by Executive Chef Jon-Paul Hutchins of the Scottsdale (Ariz.) Culinary Institute. Also featured was veal chorizo, a new sausage produced by George Lombardi of the Roma Packing Company of Chicago, Ill.
Increasing veal demand and sales are important goals of the Beef Checkoff Program. Veal promotion, research and education programs are coordinated on behalf of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and the Federation of State Beef Councils by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA). The NCBA serves as one of the Beef Board’s contractors for checkoff-funded programs.
“The Culinary R&D Conference was a great opportunity to meet leading edge chefs who are very influential in making menu selections for restaurant chains, which is a key component of the veal industry’s Go To Market Strategy,” said Micheal Mosner, a veal packer from The Bronx, N.Y., and chairman of the industry’s Joint Veal Committee.
Mosner added that both of the entrées featured lend themselves very well to the veal industry’s goal of branching out to more casual theme restaurants.
“Veal short ribs and veal chorizo are exactly the kind of products the veal industry needs to expand its menu presence,” Mosner said. “They can also help extend our demographic reach, appealing to ethnic groups that may not have had much exposure to the great flavor of veal.”
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The Beef Checkoff Program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval. The checkoff assessment became mandatory when the program was approved by 79 percent of producers in a 1988 national referendum vote. Checkoff revenues may be used for promotion, education and research programs to improve the marketing climate for beef.
Producer-directed and consumer-focused, the NCBA is the trade association of America’s cattle farmers and ranchers, and the marketing organization for the largest segment of the nation’s food and fiber industry.