Tassie beef and lamb best in the land

•  Tasmania's best: Grand Champion Branded Lamb of Show winner David Pickworth from Royal Wholesale Meats with Australia's best lamb and Grand Champion Branded Beef of Show winner Hugo Miller from Paradigm Foods with Australia's best steak.

Tasmania can lay claim to producing the best beef and lamb in Australia this year, with the state taking top honours for red meat at the prestigious Royal Queensland Awards.

Australia’s best beef, lamb, cheese, dairy, ice cream, gelato and sorbet were crowned from a total of 540 entries, with the winners announced at the Brisbane Showgrounds today.

The Grand Champion Branded Beef of Show was awarded to Paradigm Foods’ ICON XB Wagyu and the Champion Branded Lamb of Show went to Royal Wholesale Meats’ Tasmanian Royal. 

Chief Judge of the Royal Queensland Branded Beef and Lamb Awards Elaine Millar said the competition was very tight and the visual and taste judging was challenging due to the extraordinary quality of most entries.

“The Grand Champion ICON XB Wagyu from Paradigm Foods’ Tasmanian herd is a very deserving winner of the Branded Beef category. It offered the perfect balance of juiciness, tenderness and structure,” she said.

“The Tasmanian Royal Lamb from Royal Wholesale Meats earned its Champion title for its complexity of delicate yet luscious sweet and savoury flavours including shortbread, pureed macadamia and the richness of Chanterelle mushrooms sautéed in homemade butter.

“Every year the judging panel is overwhelmed by the escalation in the quality of the Branded Beef and Lamb entries. It is an outstanding achievement by our dedicated Australian producers and our retail and food service industries and ultimately the end diner are the beneficiaries.”

In the Cheese and Dairy competition, the nation’s finest cheese was awarded to Montefiore Cheese from Victoria for their Trecce.

The top cheese products were up there with the best cheeses in Australia and on average the quality in cheese and dairy was very high.”

Some of today’s award-winning products will be showcased on the Royal Queensland Cooking Stage at the Royal Queensland Show (Ekka) which is now just 93 days away.

GRAND CHAMPION BRANDED BEEF OF SHOW (Australia’s best steak)
ICON XB Wagyu by Paradigm Foods

CHAMPION BRANDED LAMB OF SHOW (Australia’s best lamb)
Tasmanian Royal by Royal Wholesale Meats

GRAND CHAMPION DAIRY PRODUCT OF SHOW (Australia’s best cheese)
Montefiore Trecce by Montefiore Cheese Aust Pty Ltd

GRAND CHAMPION ICE CREAM, GELATO OR SORBET OF SHOW (Australia’s best ice cream)
Yuzu Gelato by Scoop Gelati

OTHER BEEF TROPHY WINNERS

CHAMPION MSA GRADED BRANDED BEEF OF SHOW
Stockyard Gold by Stockyard Beef

Grain Fed Class Class 1

Gold:               Stockyard Gold by Stockyard Beef

Silver:              Angus Reserve Black Angus Beef by NH Foods Australia

Bronze:            Southern Grain 150 Day Angus by Australian Meat Group

Grass Fed Class 2

Gold:               Josdale Angus Grass fed by Australian Meat Group

Silver:              Southern Ranges Grass Fed by Australian Meat Group

Bronze:            Angus Pure Grass Fed Beef by Thomas Foods International

Wagyu Class AUS-MEAT Marble Score 6 or less

Gold:               Tajima Australian Grainfed Wagyu by Andrews Meat Industries

Silver:              Black Opal by Harmony Agriculture & Food Company Pty Ltd

Bronze:            Yugo XB Wagyu by Paradigm Foods

Wagyu Class AUS-MEAT Marble Score 7+

Gold:               ICON XB Wagyu by Paradigm Foods

Silver:               Kiwami by Stockyard by Stockyard Beef

Bronze:            Tajima Australian Grainfed Wagyu by Andrews Meat Industries

Open Class

Gold:               JBS Australia Yardstick MB2+ by JBS Australia

Silver:              Coles Finest Carbon Neutral Beef by Coles

Bronze:            Kilcoy Diamond Choice by Kilcoy Global Foods

OTHER LAMB TROPHY WINNERS

Branded Lamb – 20 kg or less

Gold:               Lamb of Tasmania Trade Lamb by Tasmanian Lamb Company

Silver:              Tasmanian Royal by Royal Wholesale Meats

Bronze:            Royal Trade by Royal Wholesale Meats

Branded Lamb – More than 20kg

Gold:               Tasmanian Royal by Royal Wholesale Meats

Silver:              Royal Trade by Royal Wholesale Meats

Bronze:            White Pyrenees Lamb by WHITE STRIPE FOODS PTY LTD

Restaurant Trade Branded Lamb – More than 24kg

Gold:                Australian Whole Meats/Minerva Foods

Silver:              Royal Trade by Royal Wholesale Meats

Bronze:            Tasmanian Royal by Royal Wholesale Meats

OTHER CHEESE AND DAIRY TROPHY WINNERS

CHAMPION COW’S MILK CHEESE OF SHOW
Montefiore Trecce by Montefiore Cheese Aust Pty Ltd