Celebrities including top chefs, financiers and leading food journalists enjoy the rich taste of Peter Hannan’s Glenarm beef in London

The Lombard Street dinner was billed and promoted widely in London as ‘An Evening with Peter Hannan’ and promised to showcase “some of the finest beef from the world renowned producer”.

Presenting the local beef, which had been dry-aged in the world’s biggest complex of Himalayan salt chambers of pink hued blocks dating back 200-millon years, was globally recognised meat expert Peter Hannan, the owner of the acclaimed Hannan Meats in Moira.

Enjoying the gala dinner were top chefs, food lovers, financiers and leading food journalists, and was the first in a series of events in Britain which will feature Peter and a range of his meats from Shorthorn animals grazing lush pastures here.

The company also provides its premium meats to other top restaurants and hotels in London, other parts of Britain, Ireland and Europe.

“It was a really special occasion which gave me an opportunity to brief diners about how the beef they were enjoying was aged by us and sourced from the award winning farms including on the Glenarm Estate. I also to presented Northern Ireland as a world class food destination to a discerning audience in London,” Peter explains.

“I was delighted to be working with good friend James Holden, the restaurant’s respected head chef, who has featured our steaks on his menus for some time."

They worked closely to create the special menu for diners at the event to experience the Himalayan salt aged beef. He outlined how the salt chambers help to produce succulent, tender and richly textured beef and lamb which has won a string of international taste awards including the coveted Great Taste Supreme Champion title twice. Hannan Meats is also the most ‘decorated’ meat business in Great Taste.

In addition to beef from the estate, Peter has developed a partnership with 70 other Glenarm beef producers in Northern Ireland. The farmers breed the cattle to his exacting specifications, ensuring that the animals graze on clover-based grass.

Having tried different varieties of salts for ageing beef, Peter chose Himalayan, which at 98.7% is one of the purest. The salt chambers create the perfect atmosphere for maturing meat. They also inhibit the bacteria that decomposes meat.

To demonstrate this, the oldest cut of meat has been inside the chamber since 1st April 2015!

Outlining the ethos of the restaurant, James says: “Our menus are all made up of seasonal fruit and veg from local growers, fresh fish from British shores and upmarket meat from small-scale yet award-winning producers such as Peter Hannan.”

The restaurant’s a la carte dinner menu, in fact, has a section for “Peter Hannan’s Mighty Marbled Steak” and features ribeye-on-the-bone for sharing between 2/3 diners at £94.50; 200g fillet steak at £49 and 250g sirloin steak at £35. The restaurant proclaims “all our beef is aged for 30 days in a Himalayan salt chamber and comes from native breeds in Ireland”.

The stylish restaurant says it is committed to “working with only the very best of British produce, using sustainable and local ingredients”.

The spectacular venue, a former bank, is described as “Not just a restaurant: A piece of London’s history”. It’s the place “where The City meets for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The imposing restaurant is full of character and situated in the heart of the financial district in an historic Grade II-listed banking hall next to Mansion House, the official residence of the Lord Mayor. and directly opposite the Bank of England.

Peter will be presenting the beef at a similar event in Newcastle upon Tyne later this month and then at a special Glenarm dinner in the iconic Fortnum and Mason store in London’s Piccadilly in May, an event which has included leading entertainers, actors and food writers.

Peter is a longstanding supplier of meats to Fortnum and Mason’s food halls and restaurants. He has also helped other artisan producers to win business with the high-end store, a magnet, in particular, for international visitors to London and a supplier to the Royal Household.

With over 40 years in the trade, Peter is passionate about quality and tasty meat. What he doesn’t know about meat is simply not worth knowing.