David Cook with his happy cows at Dandaragan Organic Beef - the business is in the running for a national produce award.
DANDARAGAN Organic Beef was recently announced as a finalist in the 2012 delicious magazine produce awards.
Nearly 2000 nominations were received this year and finalists were selected by a panel of leading chefs in each state.
The five primary produce national judges will decide on the standouts in each category – earth, dairy, paddock and sea – with a focus on quality and sustainability.
Dandaragan Organic Beef has a strong focus on both sustainability and quality, a focus which has seen them gain a steady and growing following amongst Perth’s restaurants and butchers.
Since turning organic 12 years ago, David and Joan Cook have worked hard on maintaining their organic certification and ensuring a consistent, high quality end product.
“The quality and consistency of our end product is something we have worked very hard on over the years,” Ms Cook said.
“The butchers and wholesalers we supply know that when they buy our beef they are going to get the same quality product every time.”
A chef from a Perth restaurant nominated the business in the food awards.
They then sent in some samples of their beef for the first stage in the judging process.
The next step was to send samples to the eastern states where celebrity judges including Maggie Beer and Matt Moran would taste and judge their product.
A spokesperson for the magazine responsible for the awards says the judging has uncovered an abundance of quality from some of Australia’s top producers and artisans.
Since launching in 2005, the awards have encouraged, showcased and rewarded Australian producers, building awareness of culinary regions and recognising fresh, seasonal food that is produced with integrity.
Now in their seventh year, the Produce Awards have received growing support from producers, chefs and readers, reinforcing the increased demand for information about quality Australian produce.
Winners in each category of the awards will be announced next week.