Wagyu Japanese beef – NFU evening at Apley Farm Shop
From left, Richard Yates, NFU Shropshire chairman; Mike Tucker, Wagyu Breeders Association director & chairman; Hugh Pocock, of Cogent Breeding Ltd, also Oxtail & Trotter specialist butchers; Adrian Joynt, Apley Estate farm manager
Wagyu beef barbecue
Apley Estate, Shropshire, by Oliver Cartwright
Presentation in The Creamery Café
Wednesday night was a beautiful early Summer evening & perfect for the Shropshire NFU’s barbecue at Apley Farm Shop. Around 40 members met to hear a talk about Japanese Wagyu beef. It is very tender & full of flavour, due to the fat in the muscle.
Tina, Julie & James staffed the evening & sent me through these photos taken by Oliver Cartwright, the NFU West Midlands communications adviser.
In the photo here is Mike Tucker who farms Wagyu beef in Gloucestershire & has been very instrumental in setting up the British Wagyu Breed Association. The third man from the left is Hugh Pocock who works for Cogent Breeding as their Genetics & Product Development Manager. He has a specialist butcher’s shop in Audlem, Cheshire selling Wagyu beef supplied to him by Brian Wilson, a Shropshire NFU member.
There is currently a growing niche market for Wagyu beef in the UK, it has a reputation for its quality of taste: Wagyu Fillet steak is selling for £400/kilo in London !
Here’s what Wikipedia says about it: “Wagyu (和牛, Wagyū?, literally “Japanese cow”) is any of several breeds of cattle, the most desired of which is genetically predisposed to intense marbling and to producing a high percentage of oleaginous unsaturated fat. The meat from such wagyu cattle is known for its quality, and commands a high price. In several areas of Japan, wagyu beef is shipped carrying area names. Some examples are Kobe, Mishima, Matsusaka, Ōmi, and Sanda beef.”
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