Aussie wagyu producer raises the ‘steaks’ a third time
Kaaren Morrissey |
Australians are pretty proud of the quality of their homegrown beef and a family-run producer has got the gong to prove it.
Jack’s Creek has taken out the World’s Best Wagyu stakes – for the third time in a row – at the 2026 World Steak Challenge in the Netherlands.
“What Jack’s Creek has achieved … over the last few years is a reflection of what the wider Australian industry is doing – there’s a lot of incredible Australian beef out there,” business manager Bob Barker told AAP.
It’s a big boost for the local wagyu industry, which is the world’s largest exporter with an estimated value of $2 billion a year, according to the Australian Wagyu Association.
Jack’s Creek is based near the small rural village of Willow Tree in the Liverpool Plains, about 375km north of Sydney in NSW.
The business, run by the Warmoll family, has been producing beef for more than 30 years, from Black Angus in the 1980s to Tajima Wagyu in the 1990s.
It now processes grain-fed wagyu, wagyu cross and black Angus cattle and exports to more than 30 countries worldwide, including key markets in Asia.
The winning wagyu steak came from a purebred steer raised at Willow Tree, and getting it to the competition in Amsterdam in prime condition for judging took a bit of arranging.
Jack’s Creek has a couple of European importers it relies on to smooth the way.
It sends a regular load to one of those, along with a handful of cartons pre-packed for the awards it’s running for.
“You have to think about the competition date, the shipping time, the ageing time for the beef, the vacuum bag,” Mr Barker said.
“We make sure they all come from a highly marbled piece of meat, so it’ll be an 8 to 9 marbling score (which ranks as luxury or fine dining).”
Once in Amsterdam, the beef was handed over to more than 60 judges for blind testing, under raw and cooked conditions.
Mr Barker said the value of the win can’t be underestimated.
“It’s a really good thing from a marketing perspective, particularly in overseas markets, where we sometimes run into messages getting lost in translation,” he said.
Across its whole supply chain, Jack’s Creek exports about 25,000 to 26,000 tonnes a year.
That includes marble score 8-9 waygu totalling a small 1000 tonnes a year.
A standard level 9 marbled porterhouse can cost about $200kg, or $80/kg for a rump, but if you’re out near Taminda, Tamworth, you can buy Jack’s Creek award winner for $125/kg at its own outlet.
Of the 128 gold medals handed out in this year’s competition, Australia took 27, narrowly beaten by Ireland on 29.
But it did secure the top World’s Best Steak gong, won by Queensland-based producer Paradigm Foods with its Senku Pure Wagyu submission. Jack’s Creek is a former winner.
Overall, Australia ran second with a medal haul of 42, after being overtaken by Ireland with 82, but it did beat England on 26.
AAP