Brandt Beef's Porterhouse Steak "Highly Recommended" and "Test Kitchen Favorite" by Cook's Illustrated

In Addition to Prime Cuts, Many Chefs Tout the Superiority of Brandt's Choice Products


BRAWLEY, CA--(Marketwire - May 12, 2008) - Brandt Beef - The True Natural, a single family owned, premium natural beef producer that is dedicated to sustainable practices, received a "highly recommended" ranking and was named "test kitchen favorite" in a blind taste test by Cook's Illustrated.

The May/June 2008 issue of Cook's Illustrated, which caters to chefs and aspiring chefs interested in understanding techniques of good cooking, features the results of a blind taste test in which representatives of the magazine's tasting lab compared several brands of mail-order porterhouse steaks. The article, entitled "Mail-Order Porterhouse Steaks: Prime or Just Pricey?" reported that the "highest marks went to test kitchen favorite Brandt Beef USDA Dry-Aged Prime Porterhouse (nearly $50 per pound), a bargain compared to the priciest sample in the lineup, Lobel's Dry-Aged American Wagyu Porterhouse Steak (nearly $129 per pound)." Brandt Beef was the only steak to be ranked in the "highly recommended" category. An electronic version of the article can be found at http://www.cooksillustrated.com/tasting.asp?tastingid=636.

The brands which Brandt Beef outranked in the taste test include: Lobel's dry-aged American Wagyu porterhouse; Lobel's natural prime dry-aged porterhouse; Allen Brothers dry-aged prime porterhouse; Peter Luger USDA prime dry-aged porterhouse; and an unnamed supermarket choice porterhouse.

"We are extremely honored to have our product recommended by Cook's Illustrated over several other well-known brands," said Eric Brandt, managing partner of Brandt Beef. "This accolade reaffirms our commitment to excellence and dedication to producing natural products that are unparalleled in taste, tenderness and consistency."

"In addition to producing the highest quality natural beef, we maintain a 'farm-to-fork' philosophy which involves raising our animals humanely and naturally without hormones and antibiotics," added Tom McAliney, executive chef of Brandt Beef. "We also actively work to provide education and recipes to chefs and consumers to promote the use of the entire animal."

"Chefs throughout the country have long touted the superior taste and performance of Brandt's natural beef products," said Bruce Rodman, president, Cambridge Packing Company, and master distributor of Brandt Beef to the East Coast. "By corn-feeding its animals for more than a year without the use of hormones or antibiotics, the quality of Brandt Beef is unsurpassed and its choice grade products outperform many of its competitors' prime products."

"Having recognized the superiority of Brandt Beef, many chefs have chosen to incorporate Brandt's choice cuts, as well as sustainable cuts, onto their menus," said Mick Hamilton, owner, Hamilton Meats, and master distributor of Brandt Beef to the Southwest. "At a time when prices continue to increase in the prime market, chefs who have selected Brandt's choice and sustainable cuts have been able to increase profit margins and lower food costs."

Brandt products are also available for purchase via the following:

For Businesses

--  Distribution to the East Coast (New England and New York) - Cambridge
    Packing Company (master distributor).  Sub-distributors include:
    --  Creative Wholesale Meats - southern Connecticut
    --  Endicott Meats - metro New York
    --  Pat LaFrieda Wholesale Meat Purveyors - metro New York
    --  Main Street Meats - Long Island, N.Y.
    --  Ashley Foods - Philadelphia
    --  Maryland Quality Meats - Baltimore/Washington, D.C.
    --  Grand Western Brands - Florida
--  Distribution to the Southwest - Hamilton Meats
--  Distribution to the Pacific Northwest - Lakeway Commodities
--  Distribution to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Aspen, Colo. and Hawaii - K&M
    Meats

For Consumers

--  Online at www.brandtbeef.com

Cook's Illustrated is a national magazine with issues published every other month. The magazine is written for cooks and aspiring cooks interested in understanding the techniques and principles of good home cooking, and features information on how to prepare great tasting meals in minutes, the science of cooking, step-by-step illustrations, instruction on recipes, kitchen tests of cookware, tastings of food and in-depth recipe technique articles. The magazine's circulation is approximately 900,000.

About Brandt Beef

Brandt Beef - The True Natural, is a single family owned premium natural beef producer for the up-scale restaurant and retail markets. The Brandt family is dedicated to sustainable practices and is passionate about producing the most consistent, highest quality, 100 percent source verified natural beef on the market. Through cattle selection, natural feeding practices and humane treatment of animals, Brandt Beef produces a product that is unparalleled in taste, tenderness and consistency. Brandt Beef received the Master Chefs' Institute Seal of Excellence for its achievement in obtaining the Master Chefs' Institute standard of quality. To obtain more information, get recipe ideas from Chef Tom McAliney or purchase various cuts of Brandt's premium natural beef, please visit www.brandtbeef.com.

Contact Information: Media Contacts: Sara DeNio Dresner Corporate Services 312-780-7223 sdenio@dresnerco.com David Gutierrez Dresner Corporate Services 312-780-7204 dgutierrez@dresnerco.com