Biggs appreciates the techniques that make each country’s cuisine unique. His most cherished moment from every kitchen is hearing: “Chef, I loved that steak last night.
In the 1990s, while he was executive chef at the Hyatt Regency Savannah, Georgia, Biggs’ distributor brought Certified Angus Beef ® steaks to try out. Not only did the chef love the product, so too did the guests. “We received a lot of great compliments and kept using it,” he says.
Today, as the Certified Angus Beef culinary arts director, Biggs enjoys helping chefs discover new abilities and techniques for serving beef. He welcomes them at The Culinary Center, where guests cut steaks in the meat lab, cook them and gather around the table to talk menu innovation.
He often advises fellow chefs that it takes two years for a steak to journey from a farm to the kitchen and only five minutes to mess it up. The Certified Angus Beef ® brand helps avoid costly mistakes.
“People know it’s going to be good,” he says. “That’s what people really want. They want the taste, the quality and consistency whether it’s a steak, a shank or a chuck for braising.”
Chef Biggs relies on quality beef and simplicity. “High heat, salt, pepper, temp it and make sure it rests properly,” he says. “If you’re using Certified Angus Beef ® cuts, you know it’s going to be great.”
Resting is key to evenly redistributing juiciness throughout the steak. After cooking, he rests his steaks for five minutes beside the hot grill before plating.
Working around the world has its advantages. Biggs loves melding the flavor of beef with his vast repertoire of culinary techniques, from Certified Angus Beef ® brand Prime sushi-style to preparing bottom sirloin flat for shawarma.
Braising items continue to gain popularity too, namely sirloin flap, inside and outside skirt, sirloin and hind shank. While living in Jordan for two years, Biggs prepared the national dish, mansaf, many times. He has since started using beef short rib or hind shank, perfect cuts for low and slow cooking and this classic dish. “Mansaf is such a wonderful dish, and provides the perfect opportunity to innovate and incorporate high quality beef into a more traditional food,” he says.
Biggs works to enhance creativity and elevate guest experiences, and he knows Certified Angus Beef ® product delivers the quality chefs and customers can count on every night. After eight years at the brand, Biggs sees chefs who choose quality beef gaining approval on their menus. Each chef’s unique preparation, seasoning and technique make a dish special. Starting with the best promises a finish that brings rave reviews. That’s what brings guests in again and again for fabulous meals.
Certified Angus Beef – who we are Based in Wooster, Ohio, and owned by family farmers and ranchers, we’re more than just Angus beef. As the original Angus beef brand, only the very best makes our cut. We set strict standards to certify every bite is tender, juicy and full of flavor, whether you’re cooking at home or dining at the best steakhouse. It’s why we’re the world’s most trusted beef brand and have been since 1978.
For more information, visit
CertifiedAngusBeef.com
About author
Rita Ghantous
Rita Ghantous is a hospitality aficionado and a passionate writer with over 9 years’ experience in journalism and 5 years experience in the hospitality sector. Her passion for the performance arts and writing, started early. At 10 years old she was praised for her solo performance of the Beatles song “All My Love” accompanied by a guitarist, and was approached by a French talent scout during her school play. However, her love for writing was stronger. Fresh out of school, she became a freelance journalist for Noun Magazine and was awarded the Silver Award Cup for Outstanding Poetry, by The International Library of Poetry (Washington DC). She studied Business Management and earned a Masters degree from Saint Joseph University (USJ), her thesis was published in the Proche-Orient, Études en Management book. She then pursued a career in the hospitality industry but didn’t give up writing, that is why she launched the Four Points by Sheraton Le Verdun Newsletter. Her love for the industry and journalism led her to Hospitality Services - the organizers of the HORECA trade show in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Jordan, as well as Salon Du Chocolat, Beirut Cooking Festival, Whisky Live and other regional shows. She is currently the Publications Executive of Hospitality News Middle East, Taste & Flavors and Lebanon Traveler. It is with ultimate devotion for her magazines that she demonstrates her hospitality savoir-faire.
