IT WAS hard not to salivate in Toowoomba today, as a team of esteemed chefs laboured around the fire pit to show how to cook for the crowds.

As part of the Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise group’s Darling Downs Beef Battle, a group of chefs led by Meat & Livestock Australia’s Sam Burke gave a live cooking demonstration for the “Fire & Flavour” lunch.

The team included master butcher Kelly Payne, chef and coach Glenn Flood and Rob Smithson from Dnata catering, which predominantly supplies airline meals.

Chef Sam said MLA had been working with pubs and restaurants across the country to develop share plates with beef.

He said share plates were becoming a trend in food service, allowing restaurants to better cater to certain appetites and use different cuts that would not go into steaks.

In a bid to showcase the significance of the beef industry on the Darling Downs, which hosts the majority of Australia’s feedlot capacity, the beef battle has been an annual event since 2018.

Shareable cuts on the fire pit at the fire and flavour event.

The competition pits some of Australia’s biggest beef brands against each other, with a professionally judged competition and a people’s choice award judged by the crowd.

This year’s competition will include JBS, The Grove shorthorns, Stockyard, Mort & Co, Bow Creek, King River, John Dee, Stanbroke, Rangers Valley and NH Foods.

With the event regularly oversubscribed and selling out more than 500 tickets, the lunch earlier in the week was set up to catch the people who missed out on the main event.

Photos from the event

Sam Burke working around the fire pit.

TSBE food leaders general manager opening the event.

Share plates ready for service.

Brussel Sprouts going onto the coals, while the beef was resting.

Rob Smithson from Dnata catering preparing the sides.