The inaugural SAS meeting

This week marked the momentous occasion of the inaugural Steak Appreciation Society (S.A.S) meeting. The concept behind SAS meetings is simple. A group of steak lovers get together at one of London’s leading steak houses to eat beef, drink good wine and chat nonsense.

The carefully selected venue for the first ever cattle call was none other than the legendary Hawksmoor in East London. The founding five members comprised myself, Dr. David Cosgrave and Messrs James Allen, Dylan Amlot & Ben Ashby.

It’s easy to miss Hawksmoor as you wander down Commercial Street. The outside of the restaurant looks more like a trendy East end design studio than a leading London steak house – though once inside there’s no mistaking where you are. The dimly lit venue has space for seventy or so carnivores to huddle closely around the wood-veneer tables. The white walls are adorned with a variety of meat related prints and other stylish artwork. And the aroma of freshly cooked beef lingers in the air.

Not wanting to waste any time with niceties we declined the option of a bespoke cocktail in favour of getting straight down to business. We were seated by the lovely Anna who was at hand to answer any questions we had regarding the menu. With so much on offer the decision making process was time consuming though after some considerable debating the team settled on their choices. Ashby and Allen spared no expense and opted for the most costly item on the menu – a 600 gram Chateaubriand priced at a mere £72 a portion. The remainder of us went for the slightly more moderate Bone-in Sirloin also weighing in 600 grams. Sides included Baked Sweet Potato, Grilled Tomatoes and Onions, Creamed Greens, Field Mushrooms and Triple Cooked Chips.

To wash the cow down we ordered several bottles of Pulenta 2005 Malbec at £37.50 each and a jug of Spitalfields finest tap water.

The meal took slightly longer to arrive than normal but this – as we were told by Anna – was due to the process by which the meat was cooked. The team of cooks – led by head chef Jason Wallace – have a very particular way of preparing the steaks which involves seasoning the meat, searing it over the charcoal grill before resting it for a full twenty minutes then finishing off the cooking process and serving up.

After things had quietened down I was invited by Anna to pay a visit to Jason and his team in the kitchen to see how things worked and to ask a few questions. The one thing that struck me was how passionate Jason was about the meat he was serving. He showed me several uncooked steaks he had prepared that day including the fillet, Rib-eye and Porterhouse. The colouring, texture and smell of the meat was quite unlike what you’d typically find in most London butchers. Jason informed me that they get all their meat – which is delivered daily – from the renowned Hackney butcher the Ginger Pig. The Ginger Pig recently received Observer Food Monthly’s Producer of the Year Award. Their beef is 100% British born and bred from their farms in North Yorkshire.

Despite the enormity of our collective order their was not a morsel left on anyone’s plate within 15 minutes of commencing eating. A post match review of the meal concluded with some interesting findings. Most notable of which was Dr Cosgrave’s description of the Chateaubriand as being comparable to a Chelsea princess whilst the Bone-in sirloin equating moreso to a Whitechapel housewife. Of the side orders the Baked Sweet Potato was the clear winner. All in all the food was deemed exeptional and bar one slight complaint from Mr Amlot everybody was left satisfied.

We rounded the meal off with two plates of cheese and some digestivos then parted company at the very social hour of eleven o’clock.

The inaugural SAS meeting was nothing short of an absolute success. Entry to the SAS is strictly by invite only and limited to one new admission per quarter. The next SAS meeting is planned May this year at a venue to be agreed. To be considered for membership please contact me via email at christopher.mair@gmail.com.

Chris Mair, Founder & Chairman of the SAS

Dr. David Cosgrave, Founding member of the SAS

Mr Dylan Amlot, Founding member of the SAS

Mr James Allen & Mr Ben Ashby, Founding members of the SAS

£144 of Chateaubriand