July 31, 2023

This paid piece is sponsored by Vanguard Hospitality.

In the world of beef, Certified Angus Beef is an industry seal of approval.

And bringing some of the brand’s biggest ambassadors to a place like Faulkton in north-central South Dakota is “very rare,” said Troy Hadrick, owner of fourth-generation Hadrick Ranch, which hosted the group last week.

“It was a big deal. Certified Angus Beef hadn’t done a brand ambassador tour like this since before COVID, so it was a big deal to get them back out here to see some country and spend time together.”

Six visiting chefs, national industry media and representatives of the Certified Angus Beef organization converged on the 400-cattle Hadrick Ranch for two days of amazing tours and tastings.

“They got to learn about the cow-calf side of things and some of the work we’re doing in sustainability,” Hadrick said. “We pulled soil samples out of the pasture and looked at how cattle grazing helps improve the soil.”

The chefs represented Ohio, California and Illinois, and all use Certified Angus Beef in their restaurants, he said.

So it was only natural to suggest representatives from Sioux Falls-based Vanguard Hospitality participate in the visit.

“Minervas is a Certified Angus Beef restaurant, so we talked with Certified Angus Beef about our relationship with Vanguard leading up to the event, and they said, ‘Wow, that would be great if they want to play a role,’” Hadrick said.

Four of Vanguard’s leaders made the trip to Faulkton to participate in the event, including preparing beef-focused appetizers for the group on the first day.

“It was a tremendous opportunity that directly ties back to how we do business,” said Tim Meagher, Vanguard’s chief operating officer.

“You could tell they really enjoyed learning about the relationship we’ve built with the Hadricks and other local producers, and we were excited to learn from them.”

From there, it was time to compete. The visiting chefs were given a culinary challenge to prepare a dish with Certified Angus Beef.

“The goal was to get them out to try new things,” Hadrick said.

“This was focused on open-fire cooking and cooking with wood, so we had a 500-gallon smoker, an open pit and big charcoal grill they could use, and some of them used a Blackstone Griddle to prepare things. And then my wife and I got to judge the contest. The food was unbelievable.”

And the chefs helped spread the word about South Dakota’s food scene – from the ranch and its sustainable approach to the integration with restaurants such as those in the Vanguard family.

“They’ve all been posting online about it,” Hadrick said. “And we now have a lot of restaurants on our list we need to go visit.”

The relationships and culinary approaches were a benefit for Vanguard too.

“Every single one of the chefs was great to get to know, plus the team from Certified Angus Beef, and I can see us building relationships with a number of people from this visit,” Meagher said.

The relationship between Hadrick and Vanguard is as strong as ever too. How much so? The cattle Hadrick’s daughters are preparing to show this season are named Ken, Tim and Josh, after members of Vanguard’s leadership team.

“Last year, we had Morrie and Minerva as 4-H steers, so we needed new ones,” Hadrick said. “Our girls just adore those guys. They’re so good to our family, and all the chefs we got to meet this visit were the same way.”

Behind the burger, local beef and producer partnerships shine