‘Slaney Valley Beef’ – Fit for a Queen

‘Rib of Slaney Valley Beef’ was the centre-piece of the State Dinner served to Queen Elizabeth II and more than 150 guests during her historic visit to Ireland during May 2011.

Slaney Foods were absolutely delighted to be called upon to supply the beef destined for such distinguished dinner plates. The call was issued several weeks beforehand seeking Slaney Valley beef for a special commission. The premium beef was sourced from members of the Slaney Herd Scheme and then passed on to our sister company Kettyle Foods in Co. Fermanagh to undergo the ‘dry ageing’ process. This process emphasises the tenderness of the meat and concentrates its wonderful beef flavour. Only then was it ready for Ross Lewis of Chapter One, the Michelin Star Chef, awaiting it in Dublin Castle.

The State Dinner Menu described the main course as follows...

Rib of Slaney Valley Beef, ox cheek and tongue,

with smoked champ potato and fried spring cabbage,

new season broad beans and carrots with

pickled and wild garlic leaf

There was also a quote on the menu from Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels...

“I took up twenty waiters in my hand, and placed them on the table: a hundred more attended below on the ground, some with dishes of meat,...A dish of their meat was a good mouthful, and a barrel of their liquor a reasonable draught. Their mutton yields to ours, but their beef is excellent. ...My servants were astonished to see me eat it, bones and all, as in our country we do the leg of a lark.”