Those who know luxury beef are familiar with Wagyu, a Japanese cattle breed whose beef is known for its rich flavor and marbling. It’s considered the highest quality beef money can buy.
Looks good, but Australian cattle farmer Scott De Bruin believes the Wagyu beef label is overused. To create a novel type of Wagyu beef and distinguish himself from the competition, De Bruin is now feeding some of his cows chocolate–up to two kilograms of Cadbury a day, to be exact. The beef from chocolate-fed Wagyu cows is being renamed “Mayura” after his farm Mayura Station, which has been raising Wagyu cows and producing Wagyu beef since 1845.
The chocolate feed produces beef with a unique flavor, described as sweet yet nutty, and people are loving it. When asked to compare, customers noticed the difference between the beef of the chocolate-fed cattle and that of the cows eating a more traditional diet, complaining that the latter simply didn’t taste the same.
Shane Osborn, a two-Michelin star chef and owner of Arcane, a high-end restaurant in Hong Kong, is one of the biggest Mayura beef advocates. “People in Hong Kong…travel a lot. They know high-end products, and Mayura is up there with the greatest products around. My customers want something unique, and this beef is by far the best beef on the market,” he told Bloomberg. His patrons rave about the beef, telling him Mayura beef is some of the best they’ve ever eaten.
In the past, cows have been fed chocolate and other candies to lower production costs, particularly when corn prices were high. For De Bruin, this diet is no money saver. The weekly 10 ton chocolate deliveries have increased his production costs by 25%, but he’s confident what Mayura has to offer is well worth the price.
Intrigued? Us, too. Fortunately, there should be about 50 metric tons of Mayura beef generated each month over the next two years. In the meantime, we’ll be saving up for a trip to Hong Kong.