Winner of 'High Steaks' competition announced

Western Australian pork farmer Rob Bradley has won the inaugural Steak Your Claim Competition. Australian Pork Limited held the competition to find the best pork loin steak, and three chef judges assessed the entries.
Bradley, his wife Janet and son Philip farm at Kellerberrin took home bragging rights and $10,000 cash with their Berkshire steak. Australian Pork Limited’s General Manager of Marketing, Peter Haydon, made the announcement and said the competition had attracted nearly 50 entries.
“This is the first time we’ve run a competition to find Australia’s best pork loin steak and we were pleased with the response from farmers and the quality of entries,” Haydon said.
“Chefs Colin Fassnidge, Victor Liong and Simon Bestley were tasked with judging the entries as both raw and cooked product. Bradley’s steaks received positive feedback in both these forms,” Haydon continued. “This competition is a celebration of great work being done by Australian pig producers. We found some high quality products that impressed our chef judges. We also found some products that we may be able to leverage abroad.”
Steaks were judged raw for color, muscle to fat ratio and marbling, as well as cooked for aroma, flavor, tenderness, juiciness and texture. The judges said Bradley’s steaks had great color, very good muscle to fat ratio and a good level of marble. The cooked product had a mild aroma, great flavor, was tender, juicy and had a great texture.
Bradley said the steaks came from pure-bred Berkshire pigs, which are bred outdoors. “We entered the competition to expose the Berkshire breed and the wonderful pork it produces,” Bradley said. “We think it was the inherent Berkshire traits which shone through for the judges. We hope the win will drive an increased demand for our quality pork.”
Results
1st RJ & JS Bradley and son, Kellerberrin, Western Australia
2nd Diamond Swamp Pastoral Company, Totness, South Australia
3rd PW and CJ Bradford, Boyup Brook, Western Australia
3rd MC and ML Blenkiron, Keyneton, South Australia
3rd Punjab Piggery, Bangalow, NSW