10.11 Pilot Launches American-Style Kobe Burgers at Retail
Expanding on the success of our grass-fed Wagyu burgers in the foodservice sector, we are pleased to announce the launch of Pilot Brand American-Style Kobe Beef Burgers and Ground Beef at select retailers throughout the country. Pilot Brands' 100% grass-fed, free range burgers are natural, have no added ingredients, and have never been treated with hormones. The delicious, juicy ground beef is available in convenient 8 oz. burgers and 1 lb. chubs. Please contact us at info@pilotbrands.com.
5.11 Firstlight™ Wagyu on ABC
ABC's Hungry Hound recently screened a television spot featuring Firstlight Wagyu at Chef Jean-Claude Poilevey's La Sardine in West Town, Chicago. In Chef Poilevey's words, "I think it's extremely tender, it's very good tasting, it's not dry; it's a wonderful product." To view the full video, click here, or look here for a transcript.
4.11 Sign Up for Our Newsletters to Stay Informed
Our quarterly newsletter is a great source of information on grass-fed meats, including supply trends and outlooks, product updates, nutrition, FAQs, chef and restaurant profiles, and more. We also offer chances to win some of our delicious grass-fed meats! If you are interested in grass-fed meats and would like to receive our newsletter, you can sign up here. We know you're busy, so we keep the newsletters limited to informative quarterly issues—and we will never share your information with others.
3.11 Firstlight Grass-Fed Wagyu Featured at Toronto's Terroir Symposium
Pilot's Firstlight grass-fed Wagyu beef ribeyes were recently featured at Toronto's Terroir Symposium in a structured beef tasting led by Mark Schatzker, author of "Steak: One Man's Search for the World's Tastiest Piece of Beef." Demonstrating the superb quality that grass-fed beef can achieve, the Wagyu steaks were a great hit with the capacity crowd—so much so that James Beard Award-winning food reporter Steve Dolinsky heard the buzz from those who attended, and was intrigued "by the idea of a Wagyu breed that was strictly grass-fed, and yet maintained higher levels of 'good' monounsaturated fats." Steve arranged to try the grass-fed Wagyu for himself at Chicago's La Sardine Restaurant, where he sampled Firstlight grass-fed Wagyu striploin and flat iron steaks, as well as Pilot's 8oz grass-fed Wagyu burgers. Describing the experience in his blog, Steve thought that the striploin steaks, prepared medium-rare, "presented beautifully, with very little shrinkage, and had a great beefy flavor, without being overwhelmed by fat." The flat iron "cooked up perfectly medium rare" and the burgers "will be among the best tasting/healthy burgers in town, just enough beef-to fat ratio and very meaty tasting." You can find the full article here.
2.11 Pilot Welcomes Paul Edmondson & Larry Thompson
Pilot is pleased to welcome Paul Edmondson and Larry Thompson to our team. Paul joins as manager of our New Zealand Beef category, and with many years' experience in the US meat industry brings a wealth of experience to the role. Larry joins our Michigan office as a sales manager and adds to Pilot's famous levels of attention and service to our retail and foodservice customers. Paul and Larry's contact details are included on our Contact page.
11.10 Pilot Launches 100% Grass-Fed Kobe-Style Burgers
Pilot's new delicious, juicy burgers will have beef lovers coming back for more! Truly a natural burger, Pilot Brands' grass-fed Wagyu (Kobe-style) burgers are 100% grass-fed, free range New Zealand Wagyu beef, and have never ever been treated with hormones or antibiotics.
We reckon that these burgers may well be some of the best you've ever tasted—at least that's what we're hearing from people who've tried them! Why not sample some for yourself—we're sure you'll love their succulence and 100% real beef flavor. The burgers are available in 2 convenient sizes to suit your particular needs; 8oz patties for that big gourmet burger we all love, and 2oz patties for tasty sliders (perfect for tapas and appetizers) that will have them reaching for more! Also available bulk in bricks.
8.10 Grass-Fed a Hit at the Western Foodservice &
Hospitality Expo
Pilot Brands' range of grass-fed meats were a great success at the Western Foodservice & Hospitality Expo, held at the Los Angeles Convention Center on 14th-16th August. Featuring a pastoral theme complete with grass carpeting and several New Zealand ranchers who mingled with visitors to discuss how they produce such fine grass-fed meats, the booth was packed throughout the show. Pilot staff cooked samples of delicious Firstlight grass-fed Wagyu ribeye steak and burgers, at times struggling to keep up with visitors lining up for a taste. Many guests described Pilot Brands' Firstlight grass-fed Wagyu as the best beef they'd ever tasted.
8.10 Meet our New Zealand Farmers at the Western Foodservice & Hospitality Expo
Pilot Brands will be exhibiting at the Western Foodservice & Hospitality Expo at the LA Convention Center from August 14-16, 2010. Take the opportunity to visit us at booth 2349 and meet some of our trusted New Zealand farmers, who will be delighted to answer your questions about just how they raise such delicious and tender grass fed meat. We will be sampling at the booth—come along and taste the grass fed difference!
8.10 Darin Roper to rejoin the Pilot Brands Team
Emphasizing our focus on fine pastoral meats, Pilot Brands is pleased to announce that Darin Roper will be rejoining the company in August 2010 to manage the company's imported lamb category. Darin brings a wealth of experience to the role, having previously worked for Pilot Brands as Australian Lamb Manager, before expanding his imported lamb resumé at Superior Farms. He was most recently in production and export with White Stripe Foods in Sydney, Australia. A New Zealander who has lived and worked in the USA, Australia and New Zealand, Darin's great knowledge of the lamb industry in all three countries will be a grand benefit to Pilot and our business partners.
11.09 Winning with Pilot Brands at the Naples ACF Show
Pilot representatives mingled with members of the American Culinary Federation's Caxambas Chapter at the ACF Vendor Showcase in Naples, FL in late October. There was strong interest in Pilot's high specification pasture-raised meats, and five lucky chefs won cases of Pilot's elite lamb frenched racks after entering in the draw at the Pilot booth. The winners were the ACF’s own Chef Frank Setera, Chef Jesse Souza of La Playa Golf Club, Chef Werner Dietrich of Olde Hickory Golf & Country Club, Chef Sander Bergstrom of The Jacaranda, and Chef Sergey Kashkin of Bay Colony Golf Club.
7.09 A fresh look for an old friend
The Pilot Brands logo has been the seal of quality on superb meats for over 20 years. In conjunction with the launch of our new company website, we are pleased to announce that we have given our iconic brand a fresh, contemporary look. Through the introduction of bold, earthy colors that reinforce the connection of the brand with the land, and a greater emphasis on Pilot’s noted “Focused On Excellence” tagline, the familiar brand is given a strong and vital look that preserves the historic integrity of this perennial chef favorite.
6.09 A fresh, inspirational presence
Reinforcing an ongoing commitment to the natural qualities and fundamental integrity of free range grass-fed meat, Pilot Brands is pleased to unveil our new website at www.pilotbrands.com. The site’s rich ambience and evocative imagery seek to inform and inspire the top chefs who use these exceptional meats. Check back with us intermittently to see some of them profiled on the site along with their Inspiring Ideas, and to read about what’s going on in the pastures each season.
6.09 Emerald Bay Seafood brand introduced
Recognizing the importance of quality, 100% net weight seafood to the commercial kitchen, Pilot Brands has launched its new Emerald Bay seafood range. The new brand is intended to remove any uncertainty when buying seafood, assuring the chef of predictable, high quality products, free of glazing issues.
“We identified a frustration among chefs when buying seafood and receiving excessive water glazing in some comparably priced products,” stated David Hollis, Pilot Brands’ Vice President of Seafood. “Our Emerald Bay brand addresses that—what you pay for is 100% what you receive. We want people to be comfortable and confident in their seafood purchases!”
Find our dedicated website at emeraldbayseafood.com.
5.09 Firstlight™ grass-fed Wagyu and venison
Pilot Brands is delighted to announce our partnership with Firstlight Foods in bringing exceptional grass-fed venison and Wagyu beef to high quality restaurants in the US. It is an exciting addition to Pilot Brands’ range of natural meats.
“Firstlight has a commitment to high quality, natural, pastorally reared meats with close attention to animal welfare and sustainability,” said Andy McIsaac, VP Marketing at Pilot Brands. “With farmer shareholding, the provenance of these terrific meats is assured—it’s a perfect pairing with Pilot Brands’ reputation for top quality chef-ready meats.”