REARERS of rare beef cattle are bringing a taste of the far the East to British meat after securing supermarket listings and restaurant supply contracts in their first year trading.

After launching The Yorkshire Wagyu Company in 2014, Yorkshire Wolds farmers Jim Bloom and Jonathan Shepherd are celebrating their first year successes through entering the New Business of the Year category in this year's Press Business Awards.

The entry follows a number of award wins for the venture after its Wagyu Rib Eye, which it supplies to Asda, won Best Beef Product of the Year and overall winner of Best Red Meat Product at the Meat Management Industry Awards 2015.

The duo have spent two years establishing one of the biggest Wagyu cross and Wagyu full blood herds in the UK at their farm in Tibthorpe, near Driffield.

Mr Shepherd said: "Wagyu originates from Japan where it is renowned for its exceptional flavour and melt in your mouth tenderness and its high levels of ‘good’ monounsaturated fats that give the beef its characteristic marbling.

"It’s still relatively uncommon in the UK, but The Yorkshire Wagyu Company intends to become the largest scale producer of British Wagyu and to put this fantastic meat firmly on the culinary map."

Mr Shepherd and Mr Bloom employ a full-time on-farm vet to ensure their cattle enjoy the best of health, meaning that cows can be treated as needed, avoiding the unnecessary and scattergun use of antibiotics.

In order to guarantee provenance, the pair has developed a unique DNA ear tagging system so they can trace every animal from field to fork.

Mr Shepherd said: "This not only provides reassurance to the consumer that the meat they are eating is Wagyu and not any other breed, but affords us, as breeders, a level of protection against unscrupulous farmers passing off other breeds as Wagyu in order to command the price premium that Wagyu enjoys.

"Such a premium product requires high quality marketing and we have invested heavily in a memorable brand identity and a branded catering trailer which acts both as a fully functional kitchen and a mobile advertising hoarding.

"We have also invested in a full time chef who operates the trailer and can advise consumers about cooking methods and recipe ideas."

So far The Yorkshire Wagyu Beef Company has secured custom from restaurants and pub restaurants including White’s of Beverley, The Blue Bell at Weaverthorpe and the Wolds Inn at Huggate, as well as supplying The Balloon Tree Farm Shop at Gate Helmsley.

The Yorkshire Wagyu Company directors, Mr Bloom and Mr Shepherd are also co-founders and directors of the (British) Wagyu Breeders Association (WBA), the first new UK breed association for 25 years, and The Yorkshire Wagyu Company hosted the WBA’s 2015 spring conference at Field House Farm earlier this year.