Meat & Livestock Australia's Lambassador event has global praise

Eighteen industry experts from 15 different countries have spent the week in Victoria tasting fresh lamb and learning more about the paddock-to-plate process as part of Meat & Livestock Australia's annual Lambassador Delegation program.

The group of industry-leading chefs and influencers hailed from Japan, Korea, China, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, US, Canada, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

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MLA global business manager Josh Anderson said the week's events aimed to boost international relationships and market demand for Australian lamb.

The events included on-farm visits, butchery demonstrations, a lamb cook-off competition and exploring Victoria's fresh food scene.

"The quality and the flavour of Australian lamb is unique, the way that we grow it is unique, and the way that we pasture feed is also well-recognised globally, but also things like our shelf life," he said.

Mr Anderson said Australian lamb's shelf life could last up to 90 days, and after shipment there would still be 50 days' shelf life remaining.

"It's a testament to the processing industry," he said.

"How clean our animals are when they enter into processing facilities, and the general care of the whole supply chain to provide that quality product through to the market."

He said the Lambassador Delegation initiative, sponsored by the Victorian government, was incredibly valuable for understanding the international market.

"What we know about chefs is that they're highly influential in all markets, including the domestic market in Australia," he said.

"We turn to the famous chefs in Australia to tell us what's going on and what are the new trends.

"When we partner with chefs that are locally respected in those markets, that's when we'll cut through and that's when we start to drive demand amongst other food service industry participants and even retail participants for that matter."

Korean food director Yoo-Kyung Kim, also known as Foodie Angela, said she felt impressed by Australian farmers' care and consideration to producing high-quality and fresh lamb.

"Australia is the perfect place for lamb," she said.

"You only see [Australian farms] through videos in Korea, but then I found out the Australian nature is that it's really good for free range lamb farming, it's a big country and there's a great atmosphere.

"The owner who takes care of the lambs, they really love them and care about the lambs, that was memorable for me.

"I think that kind of atmosphere affects the taste of their flesh."

Korean chef Yoon-Hye Kim owns and manages a Sichuan-style hot pot restaurant and said she felt inspired to open a barbecue-style menu that featured lamb.

"The first time I opened my restaurant, many Koreans were scared about eating lamb," she said.

"For me, I want to use lamb more and give the customers the experience.

"There are so many pork barbecue restaurants and beef barbecue restaurants in Korea already, especially during COVID-19.

"When the next month starts I'm going to make a new category of our business for barbecue lamb, I want to pair it with Chinese cuisine and sell it."

Meanwhile, MLA Saudi Arabian ambassador Jad Hedwane travelled to Melbourne with influencer and leading chef Abdul Aziz Al-Mutawa, who creates social media content that regularly garners millions of viewers.

Mr Hedwane said they hoped to build an understanding of the processes behind Australian lamb to appeal to their market.

"We are a Muslim country, so everyone is asking, 'is it real Halal? Is it 100 per cent Halal?'," he said.

"[Chef Aziz] is very well-known in our country as an influencer, so people are listening to what he's saying and what he's advising.

"We want them to believe in our job, to believe in our cleanliness, our way of slaughtering and our process.

"He is taking this image and conveying it to the Saudi audience, to the locals so they will trust us more and trust that we are Halal."