Lamb rules supreme when it comes to bringing people together and showcasing the richness of cultures that make up Australia, according to Meat & Livestock Australia's popular corporate chef Sam Burke.
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With that in mind, the culinary expert who whips up feasts for huge crowds on a regular basis is designing a menu for Lambition that is more a journey than a meal.
"Lamb is the ultimate multicultural dish," Mr Burke said.
"What we want to do at Lambition is celebrate how modern Australia has lamb on the menu every week. Traditional Aussies love their leg of lamb roast or crumbed cutlets but the wonderful cultures that have arrived on our shores have taken this protein to the next level."
Lambition 2019 will be held on the evening of Saturday, July 20 at the Ulumbarra Theatre.
Under a format of share plates served up on trestle tables, MLA plans to take diners at Lambition on a trip around the globe to see how lamb can be used is so many different ways.
"Often a producer doesn't see what happens to their product once it leaves the farmgate, so we want to bring the rich experience of lamb to the producer at this event," Mr Burke said.
From flamed grilled barbecued lamb kofta with smoked baba ghanoush and pomegranate or baby pulled lamb pies with green tomato chutney on arrival to slow roasted lamb shoulder with warm mini khabz as a main, the MLA team will supply tastes of everywhere from Jamaica to Asia.
"Lamb has always been considered our national dish and today it represents modern Australia and family and friends sharing good food."
Mr Burke is one of a team of country-specific professional culinary experts MLA has in multiple markets.
The bread and butter of his work, he explains, is with big food service players across the many different sectors - catering companies, quick service restaurants, pubs and hotels, cruise ships, airlines and aged care. The aim is to ensure red meat holds its place on their menus. That means making certain these businesses have success at every step with the lamb, beef and goatmeat they serve up.
Lamb has always been considered our national dish.
- Sam Burke, Lambition
From a chef's perspective, Australian lamb boasts a number of characteristics that makes it stand out Mr Burke said.
"Our lambs are a fantastic weight, which provides a unique flavour from great pastures," he said.
"As an island continent, Australia has some natural advantages when it comes to biosecurity and these are backed up by our world-class integrity systems. Our lamb is safe, clean, green and well-produced and those are things chefs are always looking for.
"Lamb is also extremely versatile. It allows for people with different cooking preferences to share the same cut. For example, if you barbecue butterflied lamb leg, the outside can be medium-to-well while the inside is medium-rare.
"That is a unique and very valuable feature. "
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