This week, the continuation of the interview published by Farmlink on On February 28, 2015, between Trever Clark of Farmlink and Jeff Duba of Duba & Co. It is mildly abridged…
What’s so special about heritage beef? Why is it worth the premium price?
It’s the recovery of lost, historic flavors and traditional farming practices. I’ve compared conventional beef as having just about as much flavor as a Budweiser. Heritage meats offer a variety of flavor (and a depth of flavor) best compared to microbrews. You don’t know you’re drinking swag until you begin trying Porters, Lambics, IPAs, and the like.
If this example is too stark, a very fair (and conservative) comparison is drinking Famous Grouse and then imbibing in a Scottish whisky. That’s the kind of difference we’re talking about, and that’s what makes them so special. That, and their unlimited marketing potential: breed, history, farm, flavor profile, sustainability, conservation, age at harvest, dry-aging, are all ways to set yourself, as a restauranteur, apart in the marketplace.
We’re here to help restaurants, through marketing consultations, get a premium price for heritage meats on their menu. If you’re a fan of The Office, we’re really going for that Michael Scott WIN-WIN-WIN scenario: guests get more than they’re paying for in terms of quality, restaurants benefit financially from a premium-priced “top-shelf” product, and rare breeds thrive (and the farmers who raise them). So, actually, it’s WIN-WIN-WIN-WIN.
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