Sourcing The Best: Westholme Wagyu

Last year, in the search for sourcing and understanding where the world’s best beef can be discovered, Chef Bob found himself in some of the most remote lands of Australia with Westholme. 

Westholme raises and produces some of the worlds best beef and wagyu that has been a mainstay on our menu at RPM Steak for years. What we sought to understand on this journey is what makes Westholme’s wagyu so special and what we found was led by nature and the amazing community of people that care for the land and its creatures. Westholme’s Australian Agriculture Company’s land spans free-range territory that is equivalent to the size of Virginia that we set off to explore for the week.

We visited 4 of the largest stations on properties that managed various stages of raising and processing the cattle from genetics and farming to nutrition and free range oversight. Every morning, we woke up with the rising sun and jumped on a tiny regional airplane for a couple of hours to travel to another station.

Chef Bob arriving in Brunette Downs.

Mustering cattle into a different area of territory.

Each station had a highly specialized team and small community ranging from 6 people at some of the smaller locations like Wylarah that oversees genetics and breeding, to over 50 people at Brunette Downs station that handles multiple disciplines from farming sustainable crops to introducing young calves to the wild. The teams that manage these stations both live and work on these vast properties and each day they open their homes to us to host us for meals and share their wealth of knowledge and expertise.

Brunette Downs

Goonoo

Wylarah Station Manager – Joel whose team oversees the breeding and genetics program.

Preparing an open fire grill at Canobie. During the wet season, this river bed is filled with water that covers the tops of these trees.

The aspects that stood out to us that makes Westholme’s product unlike anything else is their F1 genetics breeding program and the free-range, nature-led lifestyle the cattle lead. While wagyu is often associated with Japanese beef, wagyu is actually a breed of cattle and their F1 program is a cross between Japanese wagyu beef and the Mitchel cow that is named after the native Mitchel grass that they feed on. Secondly, the ability for these animals to live a safe, free-range life where the land is cultivated for maximum nutrition and sustainability shows in the end product that is both balanced and rich.

As the trip came to it’s final days, Chef Bob and our team had the opportunity to return the hospitality one night and thank all of our hosts by serving a beautiful outdoor dinner for 50 people at Brunette Downs. We left this trip understanding the impact of Westholme’s cattle raising practices on the product we serve at RPM Steak but more importantly, we had the opportunity to connect with the people that tend the cattle and land with the utmost care and we made some truly lifelong connections and friends.

Finally, as inspired by this trip, Chef Bob has crafted three special menu items featuring various cuts of Westholme wagyu that will be available at RPM Steak starting February 4th for a limited time.

Westholme Porterhouse

Westholme Grassfed Tartare with Thai flavors

Westholme Flank Steak, Tempura Eggplant, Black Bean

Make a Reservation 

Chef Bob will also be hosting a Westholme Tasting Dinner Experience on March 11th. Join us to experience dishes inspired by Chef’s trip to Australia and sample some of the world’s best that RPM Steak has to offer along with exquisite beverage pairings. 

Link to Buy Tickets Coming Soon