McConnell Golf’s latest step in sourcing high-quality ingredients is sizzling.
Farm-to-table has long been a culinary buzz phrase, and it’s no secret that using fresh, locally grown ingredients produces a superior dish. But securing the best ingredients for McConnell Golf’s chefs goes beyond stocking the kitchen with local produce. Thanks to a recent partnership between McConnell Golf and Meyer Natural Foods, high quality steaks and beef are now appearing o n all club menus.
What makes Meyer Natural Angus products among the best? It’s all traced back to Meyer Ranch, a 40,000-acre expanse in Montana where cattle are humanely raised, fed vegetarian diets of natural grains and grasses, and never given antibiotics or hormones.
“The only thing we concentrate on is natural, organic protein,” says Reid Swanson, vice president, Meyer Natural Foods. “We’re raising cattle without technology, while utilizing the best genetics to grow a superior animal without pushing it. By allowing cattle to grow naturally, customers taste the difference. Our products are juicier, more flavorful, and more tender.”
James Patterson, one of McConnell Golf’s corporate executive chefs, has been serving Meyer Natural Angus at Sedgefield for several years. When McConnell Golf started looking for ways to further improve its culinary offerings across all clubs, Patterson knew where to go.
“We wanted to find a natural product that would embrace the true essence of what we felt a steak should eat like,” he says. “The quality, consistency, flavor, and overall natural story behind Meyer separates it from traditional commodity beef.”
Now, all McConnell chefs have the flexibility to order any cut of product from Meyer they choose — from strip loin to short rib. The meat arrives in club kitchens with traceability back to the ranch.
When Patterson introduced his peers to the new product, he did a side-by-side butchery comparison of Meyer New York strip and commodity New York Strip.
“The chefs saw a huge difference when we did the comparison,” he says. “We placed the two cuts side-by-side to show the difference in moisture, marbling, color, and texture. The Meyer cut is absolutely a step above and beyond any other traditional steak you’d see on a menu.”