Recently, the California Beef Council hosted 11 food, culinary and lifestyle social media influencers to get a firsthand look at beef from the ranch level to the dining experience. These content creators, ranging from macro-influencers with more than half a million followers to those with highly engaged followers numbering in the thousands, spent an afternoon on a San Diego County family ranch learning about how cattle are cared for, and then had a sunset pop-up dining experience at the home of San Diego food blogger, cookbook author and on-camera host Whitney Bond.

“Events like this are an opportunity for the CBC and influencers to network, meet new food and culinary influencers, and to provide a fun day for our cattle ranchers and food influencer partners,” said Christie Van Egmond, the CBC’s director of retail & foodservice marketing. “Our guests have a combined Instagram following of more than 1.68 million, and our hope is that those followers have a chance to vicariously share in the experience of these content creators.”

The event kicked off with a meetup at the San Diego Mission Bay Resort. Influencers boarded the bus to head to the Flying ‘F’ Ranch, owned and operated by Alli and Bryce Fender. For many, this was the first big eye-opener of the day. A cattle ranch near San Diego?

“People forget how important agriculture is to California,” Van Egmond said, “and it’s almost everywhere in the state. Urban areas like San Diego exist in close proximity to rural areas with a decidedly different way of life. That’s the point of putting together an event like this; we bring people from different walks of life together and they find common ground.”

Guests walked the rangeland with Alli and Bryce, seeing mother cows with new calves, heifers about to give birth to their first calf, and older cow/calf pairs. The second big eye-opener for the group was how cattle can “upcycle” commercial food waste into high-quality protein, keeping that food waste out of the landfill.

“We were thrilled to be able to partner with Viewpoint Brewing Company in nearby Del Mar for the restaurant pop-up menu pairings because the brewer’s grain left over at the end of the beer making process goes to Alli and Bryce at Flying ‘F’ where they feed it to their cattle,” Van Egmond said. “The spent brewer’s grains stay out of the landfill, provide extra nutrition for the cattle, and solve a disposal problem for Viewpoint. It’s a win all the way around and a part of the overall sustainability story of cattle ranching. Depending on where a ranch is located in the state, other agricultural food waste makes its way to cattle, including almond hulls, citrus peels, and cotton seeds.”

After a couple of hours at the Flying ‘F,’ it was time to head back to the city and a sunset dining experience in Whitney Bond’s backyard.

Bond worked with Viewpoint Brewing and Franciscan Estate wines to create the pairings for the menu. The menu for the Ranch & Restaurant Pop-Up guests included:

• Sous Vide Top Sirloin Steak Crostini paired with a Franciscan Estate Sauvignon Blanc.
• Coffee Crusted Smoked Tri Tip paired with Viewpoint Brewing Birdie Fest Marzen.
• Ground Beef Smash Burger Slider paired with Viewpoint Brewing Fan Fare IPA.
• Slow Cooked Beef Chuck Roast Ragu Lasagna paired with Franciscan Estate Cabernet Sauvignon.
• Brazilian-Style Rotisserie Picanha/Sirloin Cap paired with Franciscan Estate Chardonnay.
• No-Churn Maple Beef Bacon Ice Cream paired with Viewpoint Brewing Barrel Aged Stout.

The Fenders joined the pop-up experience, as did CBC’s Chairman Steven Maxey and his wife Cassi of Fresno’s butcher shop The Meat Up and meat processor Certified Meat Products, allowing guests to continue the ranch-to-table conversation with people in the beef industry. As guests left Bond’s home at the end of the evening, they received Nutella Beef Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies for the road.

“Experiences like this are valuable not only for the content creators and influencers we invited, but for cattle ranchers and beef producers who are able to attend,” Van Egmond said. “Sharing food, conversation, and information leads to better understanding all the way around. And when you bring creative food influencers together in this atmosphere with delicious beef, great wines, and beers from an amazing local brewery, mouthwatering posts and recipes are sure to follow.”

For more information about retail and foodservice programs like the Ranch & Restaurant Pop-Up, contact Christie Van Egmond at christie@calbeef.org. Visit here more information on the CBC.

Source: California Beef Council