Skip to main content

DkIT Students Primed For Success with ABP Beef Sponsorship

01 February 2017

ABP Beef renews annual sponsorship of beef used by DkIT Culinary Arts students to enhance their knowledge of cooking with rare cuts of Irish beef.

Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) received generous sponsorship from ABP Beef, a division of the multinational APB Food Group, to provide its first year BA Culinary Arts students with a selection of high-quality Irish beef to support skills development in areas of meat preparation, butchery and cooking with beef.

The ABP Beef sponsorship was aimed at specifically addressing this skills shortage among chefs in the North East region around cooking with less common cuts of beef, such as those from the Fore and Hindquarter.

According to a recent survey conducted by students of the BA Culinary Arts programme at DkIT, an overwhelming majority of restaurants and hotels across counties Meath, Monaghan, Cavan and Louth do not to serve beef from the Fore or Hindquarter. Follow up interviews with Head and Second Chefs from these establishments uncovered that the primary reason for this is due to a lack of knowledge around how to cook with these cuts.

As result of the ABP Beef sponsorship, DkIT students have the opportunity to expand their skills in cooking with beef from a wide variety of cuts. This semester Culinary Arts students used Hind and Forequarter cuts to created complex dishes such as a Carbonnade of Beef (thick flank cooked in beer and onions), Slow Braised Beef Cheeks on a Bed of Colcannon, Beef Ribs and a Traditional Beef Rib Roast. Students also took part in an exciting challenge to create the world’s best burger with the winner serving up a 10 oz Burger with black pudding, avocado and red onion salsa.

 



In addition to the sponsorship, representatives from the ABP Beef team delivered a guest lecture to students on beef production, highlighting the importance of breed, age, diet and grass feeding the determining the quality of the meat.

Speaking today, Culinary Arts Lecturer and Butcher Specialist at DKIT, Michael McNamara said: 

“We are immensely grateful to APB Beef for once again sponsoring the beef for our BA Culinary Art students. Access to rare cuts of beef has enabled the students to differentiate themselves and develop job-ready skills that are in high demand by the hospitality sector, particularly in the North East. Our continued collaboration with ABP Beef adds great value to the teaching and learning offered at DkIT, not to mention provides great insight to both staff and students into key issues affecting the agrifood industry today in Ireland.”