The Staff Canteen Live 2026: Aussie Beef masterclass

On Tuesday, June 2, The Staff Canteen partnered with Aussie Beef and Lamb and Austrade for a bespoke chef event at Smiths of Smithfield.

The event was designed specifically to showcase secondary cuts of Australian beef and lamb, demonstrating how underutilised and more cost-effective cuts can be used creatively and commercially in professional kitchens.

The day brought together a targeted group of chefs for a practical masterclass combining product education, butchery, menu development and supplier insight.

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The Grill at Smiths, in Farringdon, London, holds two AA rosettes, led by head chef Tim De La Cruz.

Guests were welcomed with drinks and canapés before a presentation from Aussie Beef and Lamb.

The afternoon also included a butchery demonstration, giving chefs the opportunity to see the cuts up close and understand how they could be applied across menus.

The guests

Guests at the event included Abbie Hendren, head chef at Teal by Sally Abé, Sameer Taneja, executive chef at Michelin-starred Benares, Stuart Gillies, chef owner of No 8 in Sevenoaks and Bank House in Chislehurst, Remi Williams, chef director at Smoke & Salt, Isabela Vaz, executive head chef at The Doyle Collection, and a wider group of senior chefs from restaurants, hotels and hospitality groups.

Reflecting on the event, Stuart said: “These networking events are something that didn’t exist years ago. I love the fact The Staff Canteen are pulling these together and creating a format where chefs can chat about food and also the pressures.

“I learned a lot about Aussie Beef and Lamb, loads of detail there, the scale of production, import and export. I didn’t know those stats, so that was really interesting.

“The butchery was great to see, it was a masterclass. It showed chefs the cuts, a lot of people here just won’t know.

“He gave them really small nuggets of information that are really useful. When you go away and talk about that to your chefs and your kitchen and sound like you know what you’re talking about, that’s a really good thing.

“It creates much more confidence and inspiration for those people in your team.”

Abbie added: “It was lovely to come and network with other people in the industry and learn all about Aussie Beef and Lamb and how they can help us with the shortage in the meat industry we have at the moment, with British beef and lamb. And take a bit of pressure off the meat industry here and what we can do.”

Sameer said: “It not only gives me an opportunity to learn about the meat, it also fills that gap of how amazing Australian lamb and beef could be.”

The partner

The event was delivered in partnership with Aussie Beef and Lamb, with the secondary cuts masterclass at the centre of the day.

Richard Sanders, country manager for Meat and Livestock Australia, said: “We wanted to do a secondary cuts class because these are underutilised cuts of beef and lamb that people forget about.

“We wanted to try something really different. For example we brought in a wagyu knuckle, which is a stewing cut. We turned it into a carpaccio, which worked so well.

“We love working with you guys. You bring in a great crowd, a good mix of chefs as well. It was great to talk to them about different cuts of meat.

“We are here to help the local industry. We are not here to overtake. A lot of media out there are saying the Australians are trying to take over the industry with their beef and lamb. Really, we’re just filling in the gaps. We have the highest respect for British farmers.

“This relationship has been going on for 150 years when Brits went to Australia and New Zealand to ship back to England and it’s still happening.

“In the last three years we’ve had a free trade agreement between Britain and Australia, so that has helped bring over more Australian beef because there is no duty any more.

“There is nothing better than British seasonal lamb, but when that season is over and you’ve got to get some lamb back on the menu, get some Australian on there. The same for beef as well.

“We’re here to look after and work with the community. The narrative has changed a lot now, going from it’s not if Australian, it’s where we can fit it on the menu or on the shelf.”