Barbecues a meaty issue this summer

If there’s one thing we learned from last weekend, it is that summer is almost here and that means barbecue season is just around the corner.
But you don’t have to limit yourself to the usual array of sausages and steak – a few simple words with your butcher and you can impress your guests just as much outdoors as you can during the winter dinner party.
Steve Rosevear, from Simply the Best butcher, said picking the right meat was important and something you should talk to your butcher about.
“We go by the Meat Standards Australia, which means getting fresh deliveries daily,” the store manager said.
“The training starts from the very beginning. We are taught to distinguish between the age of the animals by looking at the meat, and being able to tell what is fresh and what isn’t.”
Rosevear, who has been working in the meat industry for eight years and helped open Simply the Best at Surry Hills in January this year, said it was important customers asked their butcher plenty of questions and made the most of their expertise.
He said part of his and his staff’s working philosophy was to ensure their customers got quality produce and quality service.
“We prepare all the products here on site,” he said.
“When our customers come in and say how good their dinner was last night it gives me a buzz knowing that they are happy. It is very rewarding.”
Simply the Best came first at the recent inner-west section of the Sausage King competition and won a silver and three bronze medals at the Royal Easter Show’s Fine Food Awards.
Simply The Best is open 9am to 7pm weekdays at St Margaret’s Centre, Bourke St, Surry Hills – phone 8021 0159.