For a delicacy whose import is prohibited in the European Union, Wagyu, or Japanese beef, sure is popular in London and other cities. It’s become a permanent fixture on the menus of four-star restaurants.

Wagyu, the most renowned appellation being Kobe beef, is known first and foremost for its extraordinary taste, tenderness and juiciness, but also for its striking marbled, velvety texture and an enviable regimen for a cow or anyone else (involving lots of beer and massage). There are also reports by British media that Wagyu may provide health benefits as a result of its high omega-3 acid content including DHA and EPA fatty acids.

Since the European Union does not permit the import of Wagyu from Japan, due to concerns associated with animal health and food hygiene, Great Britain has sought replacement Wagyu from countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Chile, America and Brazil that have tried to replicate the production of the beef.

The Quest to Reverse-Engineer a Delicacy
No doubt thinking, “If those other countries can do it, why can’t we?” would be do-it-yourself Wagyu producers are popping up here and there in Great Britain.

David Wynne-Finch, a cattle farmer from North Wales, produced Great Britain’s first Wagyu cattle by importing the embryos of mixed black Wagyu from the U.S. and implanting them in his standard cross-bred beef cows. Wynne-Finch began his efforts in 1999 and began marketing his Wagyu beef in 2003.

Steve Ramshaw, a cattle farmer in North England, has imported Wagyu embryos from Canada and implanted them in his own cows. The first stock of calves is expected this summer, and the first shipment of beef is expected to reach finer department stores and four-star restaurants by late this year.

Some farmers use Japanese-style rearing technique on their non-Wagyu cattle. Although most beef cattle are pasture-raised in Great Britain, Craig Walsh, a farmer from the southwest region of England, raises Aberdeen-Angus cattle by feeding grain and beer, and massaging them several times a week to achieve marbled Wagyu-like qualities. In the end, he markets the resulting product as “Kobe-style” beef. Another farmer, as shown on “BBC News” aired on February 9, 2007 mentioned him feeding his cattle as much as 40 pints (about 23 liters) of beer a day as a means to increase their appetite. Such reports reveal an increasing trend for regular cattle farmers to produce beef that resembles and tastes like Wagyu .

Will the British get to Sample the Original?
According to Hiroshi Sudo, the head chef at London’s Japanese restaurant “MATSURI”, located in High Holborn, where Wagyu steaks are a popular dish, they currently use beef imported from Australia and New Zealand. However, according to Sudo, the quality of the meat, from its flavor to its texture to its fat content, does not measure up to the original from Japan, asserting that if authentic Japanese Wagyu were on the menu, it would definitely be a top seller.

Even if they could produce a superior product, domestic producers can’t keep up with demand in Great Britain, to the point where over the past year, JETRO London
has received inquires from three domestic beef distributors wanting to know if there were any ways to import Wagyu beef from Japan.

It’s clear that British consumers and restaurant owners look forward to the lifting of the ban on Japanese imported meat, so that they can finally experience the indescribable pleasures of authentic Wagyu beef.

Wagyu sold in Great Britain
Beef that has the distinct flavor of Wagyu is sold in finer Japanese restaurants and four-star department stores. “UMU”, an upscale Japanese restaurant in London, serves a 120-gram Wagyu steak for £45 (about $88.65) that is imported from Australia or New Zealand. The four-star department store “Harrods” sells Australian Wagyu for around £120/kg (about $236.40), and also sells Wagyu raised in New Zealand or Wales, depending upon the time of year. Additionally, last year, for a limited time, London’s finest department store, Selfridges, offered a Wagyu beef sandwich made with Wagyu imported from Chile for £85 (about $167.45). Brand recognition, popularity and demand for Wagyu has without a doubt experienced a steady growth.

Currently, the only regions or countries from which the EU allows import of beef are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Botswana, Canada, Croatia, Chile, the Falkland Islands, Macedonia, Greenland, Iceland, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Paraguay, Serbia, South Africa, Swaziland, America, Uruguay and Zimbabwe.

Written by Nobuyuki Kosaka and Meiri Shibuya