FACED with an abundance of inner-Brisbane pub competitors offering steak as their main drawcard, Southbank's historical Ship Inn decided to move in a different direction, showcasing lamb as its signature meat.
And the decision taken six months ago has proven a big success, according to proprietor, John Mander-Jones.
He told southern-state restaurant and hotel chefs visiting Brisbane this week as guests of MLA's Red Meat Networking Club that lamb could be as significant a drawcard as a good steak, provided it could deliver on both quality and consistency.
John, whose family produced lamb for five generations between Dirranbandi and St George, worked as a solicitor before venturing into food service and hospitality. He has owned and run the Ship Inn for five years.
"Everyone in this industry argues over who has the best steak, so I wanted to differentiate our business in some way," he said.
Since launching the lamb strategy six months ago, the Ship Inn has had an overwhelming response from the public and now features a variety of lamb dishes.
"Previously we always had a lamb menu item now and then, but I've been delighted in how customers have reacted since we got into it in a bigger way," he said.
John established a close supply relationship with Corish grainfed branded lamb, produced by the Corish family at their Mundine feedlot near Goondiwindi, using a combination of full carcases and additional boxed cuts.
"Originally when sourcing lamb from another supplier we struggled with consistency in cut size, finish and eating quality, but since taking up and promoting the Corish brand, we've been extremely happy with the performance," he said.
Heavier carcases 21kg and above are selected, providing larger portion sizes better suited to food service use. Asked how the Ship Inn managed the high raw material cost associated with wholesale lamb, he said lamb had 'gone missing in action' recently at the hotel/restaurant level.
"Granted, it has had a reputation for being over-priced and I blame the large supermarket chains for a lot of that. But dealing directly with the supplier and finding ways to utilise the entire carcase are the answers in managing raw material cost. Also, we can pass some of that procure-ment cost onto the customer."
John said it was difficult to make direct comparisons over price between beef and lamb on the Ship Inn's menu, because beef items were basically steak cuts, while a wide range of lamb cuts and mince were used.
"For a lamb loin, served as an 'absolute restaurant quality meal',x the price is around $23, so it is not prohibitively priced, by any means," he said. "But our menu items go from one end of the sheep to the other. That's much more difficult to do with a beast because there are too many cuts involved. But with a lamb, it can be narrowed down - there are not that many cuts in a lamb carcase - especially when our chefs have done such a great job in creative menu development."
As an example, gourmet lamb burgers using shoulder meat, brisket and lean trim are a popular menu item at $18 a serve. Other items change daily, ranging from oven roasted lamb rumps to lamb curries, shanks and pies.
"While this week's visiting chefs were curious as to why we would push lamb in a market so strongly associated with beef, they all agreed that there isn't enough lamb seen in the food service market. Most diners have fond memories of the meat, but it is only now starting to hit its straps."
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