A farmer has revealed plans to create an English version of the world's most expensive beef.
The first English-reared Kobe beef could be available in 2009 as Northumberland's Steve Ramshaw has imported 12 Japanese Wagyu cattle embryos and plans to implant them into his Aberdeen Angus cows. "The aim is to produce beef at least as good as anything else in the world," said Ramsden. "I want to encourage other farmers to work with us so we can offer the beef on a broader scale."
There are four different types of Wagyu, of which Kobe is the best known, and all have different levels of intermuscular fat. The meat is noted for its delicate texture, extreme marbling, exceptional tenderness and deep flavour, and is said to improve with being frozen.
The cattle will be reared on Ramshaw's 1,000-acre Monkridge Hill Farm, near Otterburn, if the surrogate cows calve next year, and will be ready for slaughter the year after.
The animals with the best genetics will be kept for breeding to create a pool of prime Kobe cattle and the others sold for meat.
"Customers go to supermarkets to buy British beef, but there are 100 different breeds reared in 100 different ways," Ramshaw said. "We can't compete on price with Brazil and Argentina because of our climate, so we have to make sure that what we produce attracts a premium price."
Finding a market for Wagyu beef wouldn't be a problem, despite the meat's reputation as a costly luxury, he said. "I've got people queuing up for it already, from top restaurants to private customers, including film stars and footballers, and we have our own butcher's shop in Fenwick's food hall in Newcastle," said Ramshaw.
"I don't think the price need be prohibitive. Harvey Nichols charges £120/kg for strip loin, but I would expect ours to be about double the price of ordinary organic Aberdeen Angus beef, at £60/kg."
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