Seminar Educates Myanmar Chefs About US Red Meat
MYANMAR - Demonstrating the versatility of US beef, pork and lamb, USMEF conducted a US meat seminar in Myanmar as part of USDA’s Global Based Initiative (GBI) program.
14 February 2018
2 minute read
With support from USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) and funding from the Beef Checkoff Program and the Pork Checkoff, the seminar conducted educational training for culinary professionals who belong to the Myanmar Chefs Association.
The two-day seminar, held at the Premium Distribution Test Kitchen in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, began with a welcome by US Embassy Agricultural Affairs Officer Rachel Nelson. Sabrina Yin, USMEF director in the ASEAN region, followed with an overview of USMEF and the US red meat industry.
On the first day, cutting demonstrations were conducted using US beef short plate, hanging tender and short rib. USMEF Chef Melvin Ho prepared three dishes from these cuts, which participating chefs sampled.
"Over the course of the seminar, we focused on US beef, pork and lamb separately, explaining the quality, attributes and various applications, and how each works with different types of cuisine," explained Ms Yin.
"This is an important approach when you are working with chefs, especially in markets where there isn’t a lot of experience with US red meat. We wanted to stress the difference between the US and competitors’ products and give the chefs a hands-on experience."
The second day began with an overview of the US pork industry, including a discussion of how it compares with the pork industries of other countries. Mr Ho explained the various primal and sub-primal cuts of the pork carcass. A cutting and cooking demonstration by Mr Ho and Ms Yin featured US pork loin and shoulder butt. Three different dishes were made from these two cuts and sampled by participating chefs.
An informative presentation on the US lamb industry was well-received, as Myanmar is open to US lamb and has a sizable population that regularly dines on lamb.
For the seminar finale, participants were divided into teams to create their own unique dishes featuring local flavors made with US red meat.
Ms Yin encouraged the participants to be proactive in learning even more about US beef, pork and lamb.
"We want them to get familiar with US red meat so they will take the step to include it on their menus in Myanmar," she said. "There was a lot of discussion among the chefs about its potential and how using US beef, pork and lamb could help their businesses."
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