U.S. Beef Alternative Cuts Promoted to HRI Professionals in the Baltics

USMEF partnered with a leading European red meat importer to showcase U.S. beef to hotel, restaurant and institutional (HRI) professionals in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.

Funded by the Beef Checkoff Program, the effort with Zandbergen World’s Finest Meats included three U.S. beef master classes focused on alternative cuts, including top blade, tri-tip, shoulder clod and flank steak. The classes, which included cooking demonstrations and tasting sessions, were conducted in Riga, Latvia; Vilnius, Lithuania; and Tallinn, Estonia over a three-week period in February and March.

Chef Denis Zavialov answers questions about U.S. beef during the Reaton Professional Days event in Vilnius, Lithuania

As part of the USMEF activity, Zandbergen representatives promoted the value and quality of U.S. beef during a food exhibition organized by the Reaton Corporation, a Latvia-based food distributor.

Zavialov prepares alternative cuts of U.S. beef for visitors to the Reaton Professional Days event in Riga, Latvia

“The opportunity to promote U.S. beef was a result of USMEF’s close relationship with Reaton, a leading supplier of products to the region’s HRI sector,” said Yuri Barutkin, USMEF representative in Europe. “We were able to promote U.S. beef to about 2,000 professionals at what is known as ‘Reaton Professional Days,’ which brings food suppliers and customers together in one place.”

Denis Zavialov, a chef from St. Petersburg, Russia, led the U.S. beef master classes and cooked various U.S. beef cuts for visitors. Zavialov previously owned a restaurant in Russia and had built his menu around alternative cuts of U.S. beef.