The Ito Ranch farm expands its legend with a new record, in this case, the record value in the auction for the best cow in Japan, exceeding 44,000 euros, after winning first prize in the Matsusaka Beef Carcass Contest this Monday, November 13 , in the annual contest held in Tokyo and which chooses the best cow in the country with the title of Queen of Matsusaka. Nobody has won it so many times.
The specimen presented by Ito Ranch, called Toyoyama, has reached an auction value of 7,197,879 Japanese yen, more than 44,000 euros, thus establishing a new historical record for the contest, which until now was set at 5,795,712 yen reached in 2016.
Matsusaka Beef, through its association, holds two competitions every year around this time: the Matsusaka Beef Carcass Contest, which distinguishes the cow with the best meat; and the Matsusaka Beef Cattle Exhibition, which determines the best-looking cow. At both events, about 50 of the 120 farms that produce Matsusaka Beef in Japan, the most expensive and exclusive meat in the world, are presented.
Ito Ranch, Matsusaka Beef’s most prestigious and award-winning farm, has returned to participate in this year’s edition of the Carcass Contest after a three-year absence. The one that was the winner of the contest three consecutive years, from 2017 to 2019, decided to step aside to give other farms the opportunity.
However, its owner, Hiroki Ito, also president of the Export Committee of the Matsusaka Beef Association, has decided to participate again, encouraged by the desire to give international visibility to the brand.
For the first time in history and thanks to the entry of the Akaneya group into this association, Matsusaka Beef has begun to be exported outside Japan. After a vote of its 450 members in November 2022, Akaneya thus became the first non-Japanese company to be accepted as a member of said association in its 60-year history. In this way, the Spanish restaurant group has the exclusive right in Europe of Ito Ranch meat and plans to distribute it through its French distribution subsidiary, Akaneya Prime.
Currently, in Europe only the Akaneya group’s three restaurants serve Matsusaka Beef from Ito Ranch, its flagship farm. These are Pilar Akaneya, in Madrid; the Carlota Akaneya, in Barcelona; and the Marie Akaneya, recently opened in Paris.
Precisely, the Madrid restaurant, Pilar Akaneya, has been awarded the Best of the Best, an award given by Tripadvisor to the 10 best restaurants in Spain. Her restaurant in Barcelona, ??Carlota Akaneya, received the same distinction in October 2016.
