This cote de boeuf may cost up to $3200. Photo: Polmard
The eye-watering price tag was the result of one Frenchman's innovation in storing meat through long periods of time.
3 Desember 2015 15:33
Brilio.net/en - Could this be the future of haute cuisine?
French butcher Alexandre Polmard has introduced to the culinary world, a storage system for beef that treats it as if it's wine.
Alexandre Polmard and a cut of his exclusive beef. Photo: CNN
Days-old aged beef has already been around for many years, and its availability has been a commonplace in many restaurants around the world.
But what if you push this method of storing beef to the extreme? You get a system that blows cold air at speeds of 120 km/h over a cut of beef at -43 degrees Celcius. The result? a mouth-watering cut of beef that's been aged for nearly 15 years.
To make things more interesting, there's only one (yes ONE) butcher in the whole world who offers these type of meats, and that's Polmard.
The farmer, breeder, and butcher is the sixth generation in working at his family's business that started all the way back in 1846.
The business set itself apart from the competition back in 1990, when Polmard's grandfather and father invented the "hibernation" meat treatment.
Polmard and his family raises a breed of cattle called Blond Aquitaine on their farm in the small town of Saint Mihiel in the Meuse region of Lorraine, France.
Polmard's special breed of cattle. Photo: CNN
"My family wouldn't dream of raising animals in sheds where they have no space or room to roam," Polmard says.
"Here they are in the open air, living in forests and on parkland. There are shelters they can choose to visit in case it rains or snows. It's really five-star accommodation!"
As with wine, different "vintages" of meat will have different tastes and characteristics. Polmard will only dispense his ultra-exclusive vintage beef to only a handful of chefs around the world. He would even visit these chefs persnally to ensure that the chefs understand fully the nuances and subtleties involved in his meat.
Looking for such a place?
You only need to go to Hong Kong's two-Michelin starred restaurant Caprice, where head chef Fabrice Vulin is one of Polmard's trusted confidants.
At this restaurant, you can indulge in a $700 seven-course lunch that celebrate's Polmard's 15-year-old beef. The main event? "Polmard's Rare Millesime Cote de Boeuf, Vintage 2000."
