It’s one of the reasons the owner-chef at Amelia Park Restaurant, which he has run with wife Renee in the stunning South West for the past seven years, was keen to see what he might find at Meet the Buyer.
The annual trade show, now in its fourth year, brings together buyers, chefs, educators, importers, sommeliers and distributors under one roof for one fabulous day of discovery. This year’s Meet the Buyer is at Crown Perth on Tuesday, 22 October.
“I just wanted to see if there was any producers that I could use here that hadn’t been on my radar,” Blair says. “I’m a creature of habit, I kind of get stuck using the same suppliers, which are great, but I do get the blinkers on so I like to pop my head up and see what’s new out there.”
Blair came away with more than he expected. “I met the guys from Futari wagyu and ended up using a few of their products as specials – they didn’t have all the cuts available, so I used secondary cuts such as brisket,” he says. “I cooked it sous vide until it was nice and tender and then just finished it over the coals; it worked out really well because the fat really melted through and the meat got that real wagyu fat flavour.”
The result was so well-received by customers Blair says he’s looking at adding the premium wagyu to the menu more regularly in the future. “It’s a matter of seeing what they have available because we’re quite a big restaurant,” he says. “I’ll probably put a fairly vague description on the menu, such as Futari wagyu, and then our wait staff can explain the dish on the days; it gives me more freedom to work with then.”
Renee, who runs front of house at the restaurant nestled in the beautiful Wilyabrup Valley, also found a new supplier for the bar – non-alcoholic spirit producer Ovant, which is based in Margaret River.
“Renee had heard of them but they ran her through a few tastings and explained how to use it, the kind of equivalent cocktails that you get from using their spirits as that’s a big thing now – alcohol-free offering on menus,” Blair says.
One of the unexpected delights of the event was the networking, meeting new growers and suppliers but also the people behind the products Blair had been using for years, such as Great Southern Groves olive oil. “I’m quite introverted so it really got me out there, and just putting faces to names was great – it just makes the whole ordering process easier,” he says.
As someone used to being tucked away in the kitchen, it was also good to mix with others in the hospitality business. “Ren and I we used to live in Perth so we knew everyone in hospitality up there but things change – it was great to catch up with people I’ve known for years but rarely see outside these events.”
Making strong connections
It’s these face-to-face connections that make all the difference to chef Paul Lange. He took his range of Smokey Q rubs and sauces to the first Meet the Buyer in 2021, relishing the opportunity to get in front of buyers.
“Woolworths contacted us after that show and that’s how we got into 25 local stores – and we’re still there,” he says. In fact, Smokey Q has been invited for a category review in two months that could see the brand rolled out in 1000 stores across Australia.
“It’s really exciting for a smaller business to get that recognition from the larger players – that it’s not always about major multinational brands in the stores,” Paul says. “Woolworths do this really well; they have state-by-state displays of different products because they try to support local business where they can.”
When Paul returned to Meet the Buyer the following year, he had a good chat with the Coles category manager. “It helped that they’d already heard of us and tried our products and I then followed up with them every six months after that,” he says.
Paul’s persistence paid off, getting four Smokey Q products, which are all hand-blended and packaged, into Coles stores nationally.
“Talking to people in person is always better than an email and sending products in the mail – they can taste products, ask questions, you can give them samples to go away,” Paul says. “That front-facing customer service is always better than email or phone call – that’s always been our success is getting in front of the customer.”
And he has obviously been very good at it. Paul has recently sold Smokey Q to a Sydney-based company.
Paul says one of the aspects he enjoyed the most about Meet the Buyer, over and above meeting new customers, was connecting with new suppliers.
“I find that the most exciting part of the show is finding new people who have like-minded interests – you form a bit of a network and bounce off one another,” he says. “I’ve always liked helping people in their business with different things; I scaled up pretty quickly in seven years and a lot of people want to know how I did that and what the pitfalls and successes were.”
It is something he would like to do a lot more of once he hands over the business to the new owners in November. “I want to keep working within the food industry and helping people in a different capacity,” Paul says.
First, though, there’s a well-deserved holiday to take with his wife, who is looking forward a proper break after years of coming back from just a few days away to pack orders. “We plan to go to Europe for six or seven weeks next year and we’ve just bought a new caravan to doing a bit of caravanning around Australia,” he says.
There are so many good news stories to come out of Meet the Buyer. Read how Sharon O’Connor-Harvey found the sweet spot for her fledgling Perth Brittle Company, and why buyers like Gary Lay, from Tucker Fresh IGA, are looking for suppliers just like Sharon.
Meet the Buyer 2024 exhibitor registrations are sold out. Delegate tickets are still available. Secure your tickets here.