London, 9th October 2008

Boisdale is Raising The "Steaks"

New Steak Menu Launch in Partnership with Aubrey Allen

Boisdale, the Scottish restaurant of London, has always had an unrivalled reputation for the finest beef, lamb, game and seafood, as well as being one of the world's leading whisky bars, live jazz & blues venues and havens for Cuban cigar connoisseurs. On 27th October Boisdale will be raising the "steaks" further by launching an extensive and innovative menu of mouth-watering cuts of Scottish beef.

Restaurateur Ranald Macdonald will be celebrating the new and grand alliance with the third generation gourmet butcher Aubrey Allen, arguably the finest butchers in Great Britain, to supply their award-winning Aberdeenshire beef to his Scottish London restaurants. Peter Allen, Managing Director of Aubrey Allen, will co-host the events.

There will an opportunity for you to taste these succulent new steaks at Boisdale of Belgravia for lunch or Boisdale of Bishopsgate for dinner on Monday 27th October.

There are seven cuts of beef on the new menu, all dry aged for 26-38 days, which allows the superb depth and complexity of flavour to develop naturally:- the most flavoursome 36 day aged rump (£18.50); the juicy and sweet rib-eye (£23.50); the resonant and deep in flavour 10 oz sirloin on the bone (£25.50); the delicate and intense fillet (£32.50) taken from the chateaux end; and last but not least the Pièce de boeuf that will be unique to Boisdale - a traditional French centre cut of sirloin, completely clear of any fat or sinew which has remarkable richness and texture.

Neil Churchill, Head Chef at Boisdale of Bishopsgate said:
"I am absolutely delighted by the magnificent quality of the beef from Aubrey Allen. It gives me inspiration to work with the very best ingredients. Sourcing the greatest grass-fed Aberdeenshire beef is crucial but equally so is the attention to detail involved in the dry ageing and the actual cutting. In this day and age these skills are fast being lost and the vast majority of British beef is poorly butchered, vacuum-packed and not aged on the bone, which is essential if you want that real beef flavour that lingers for minutes on the palate."

Colin Wint, Head Chef Boisdale of Belgravia:
"In twenty years of working in London I have never seen this quality of beef on a consistent basis. I am well impressed."

Ranald Macdonald, proprietor:
"I had heard of Aubrey Allen by reputation and am ominously delighted to have discovered that the Allen family are kinsmen of ours and part of the worldwide Clanranald family. I have had the arduous task of testing the new steaks every week over the last couple of months and they have remained superbly consistent and completely delicious: undoubtedly as good as or better than any beef I have ever tasted in my life. Unfortunately, the very finest quality does come with a price, but once tasted it is undeniably worth it. Consider alone the cost of transporting and storing beef on the bone compared to "vac" packed slabs of meat, cut in the abattoir immediately after slaughter. Great beef is very labour and capital intensive. There are also so many shortcuts in the beef industry and even "Scottish" could simply mean that the cattle was "finished" in Scotland for the last three months. All the beef supplied to us from Aubrey Allen is from the very best certified beef suckler herds of Aberdeenshire; I am very proud and excited to have Aubrey Allen on board."

Peter Allen, Managing Director Aubrey Allen:
"To source the best beef and to employ the finest skills cannot happen overnight; Aubrey Allen have built a relationship over 20 years with our beef farmers in Scotland and as a result the top quality 5% of the yield is reserved for us, and so for Boisdale. Our Master Butcher, Bob Spring, has worked using traditional butchery techniques with us for over 25 years and during that time he has ably trained our other butchers. Aubrey Allen has built a reputation for quality over its 80-year history. Its beef is free-range and naturally-reared, whilst the use of the dry-ageing treatment ensures the best taste possible. Aubrey Allen won an award this year for ethical sourcing (based on relationships and fair trade with its farmers) and is accredited by all the leading government bodies on quality standards."