The trip was an amazing opportunity to connect with the chefs using our product. They were very excited to meet one of the producers of the venison they use, hear Northbank Station's story, and see pictures of the farm. They said it helped, as they can tell their customers that they have met the farmer and seen how the animals are raised.
The trip was an amazing opportunity to connect with the chefs using our product. They were very excited to meet one of the producers of the venison they use, hear Northbank Station's story, and see pictures of the farm. They said it helped, as they can tell their customers that they have met the farmer and seen how the animals are raised.
We started our trip in New York. The first few days were spent visiting Brookland and New Jersey restaurants. One of them was a pop-up that was very secretive about what they were doing; the chef was impressed with the venison but could only see it on their menu once they had a more permanent place. Others in New Jersey loved our venison; they were small, quaint places where the chefs had a lot of passion for producing quality products.
We then moved on to Philadelphia, Washington DC, and Baltimore. The restaurants we visited here were great; again, the chefs were excited to taste our venison. They were very keen to put it on their menu. One in particular made a Tatare out of the leg steak sample, which tasted amazing.
Our next stop was Chicago and Minneapolis. In Chicago, we went to the D'Artagnan offices and Warehouse and presented to the sales reps. Then, we hit the road for the day, visiting chefs. In Minneapolis, we attended the Fortune Show, where, alongside other producers of fine products, we got to showcase our venison to attendees. Again, it was a hit. One lady who had not eaten venison for 12 years tried Mountain River venison and loved it.
On to Denver, our last stop for the trip. It was a lot different from the other sites, with more open space and more relaxed people. It was a little more challenging here as we were competing with local venison. Still, once the chefs tasted our venison, they came around very quickly. We visited two restaurants that had just won Michelin Stars (amazing). One of them had also won a Green Michelin Star and used Mountain River venison as their dish for the Michelin Star.
All the chefs could not believe that the deer are pasture-raised and were blown away with the venison's flavor, tenderness, and texture (no game taste). They liked the strip lion and were pleasantly surprised by the leg steak. Some instantly thought of doing a steak Tartare with it, adding it to their menu as one of the proteins and jazzing it up with berries, root vegetables, and salads.
We had enquiries from some about other products, hearts, sweetbreads, blood, and bones. There was only one concern that kept popping up, and that was a guarantee of supply. I assured them that there should not be a problem.
We want to thank John Sadler for the amazing opportunity to have this experience of going and meeting the chefs who love and use our venison and the D' Artagnan team that have a passion for our product and were very generous in hosting us.
Adam & Sharon Waite
Northbank Station
Find Out More:
See more photos and videos: www.mountainrivervenison.co.nz/usa-farmer-visit-2023
D'Artagnan Foods: www.dartagnan.com/buy/meat-game/