Zimbos value their cattle

Zimbabwe is a land-locked country, slightly larger than the state of Montana, and was one time a world-class beef producer. Over 4,5 million communal cattle currently roam the rural grasslands, and thanks to the efforts of dedicated cattlemen like Rob Duncan, managing director of Montana meats and prime producer and supplier of Zimbabwean beef, the national herd is well on the way to being restored to its former glory.
On the opening day of the show, after admiring the fine looking vegetables, grains, pulses and fruit exhibited by enthusiastic communal farmers, who had travelled from far and wide to attend the show, George and I strolled south towards the Tanganda Gate. We passed some feisty looking heifers, and noticed a sign inviting passersby to “Win with Montana a mombe for US$1”. Montana Meats were raising funds for the ZRP Anti-Stock Theft Unit, primarily to provide cell phones to combat this ever-increasing crime.
 After paying US$1, punters were invited to guess the weight of a particular mombe, which became the property of whoever guessed correctly.
At 5 o’clock every evening for the duration of the show, eager crowds gathered around the state-of-the-art electronic cattle scales, while the Montana cattlemen announced the latest winner.
I couldn’t believe my good luck when it was announced that my guess of 298kg was the correct weight of Monday’s heifer, and I became the proud owner of the potential matriarch of a herd of Brahmin cattle!
The charming heifer was soon named Daisy, and I made an oath to never again eat beef. But it has always been a woman’s prerogative to change her mind, and barely a week later, I rang the renowned steak house, Millers Restaurant in Ballantyne Park, to book a table for lunch.
After a six-day diet of pasta and vegetable, it seemed OK to contemplate a slice of Zimbabwean grass fed beef, provided it wasn’t Daisy being led to the slaughterhouse.
Millers Restaurant opened two years ago, on July 4 2007, and to all intents and purposes, appears to be a great success. Not only do they serve quality, well-hung beef; they also offer pork, lamb, chicken and seafood. The premises are light and airy, and the waiters are tall, well dressed and renowned for their friendly smiles. Good quality glassware, tableware and flatware gleam on every table and man-sized damask table napkins are crisply starched.
I ordered the special of the day, a 200 gram sirloin steak served with French fries and garnished with piri piri chicken livers.
George had calamari steaks, and hedged his bets, requesting both rice and fries. Because my steak and chicken liver garnish were covered with a creamy tomato sauce, I couldn’t taste the true meat flavour of the sirloin.
In search of perfection, I ordered Chef Shane’s coffee flavoured crème brulee. This was tasty enough, but lacked the characteristic layer of hard caramel, created by caramelising sugar under a broiler, and tasted like a demitasse of coffee bavarois.
Perfection is not always obtainable, but very good should be achievable. When asked recently where I had last eaten a truly memorable steak, I replied that it had been some years ago,at Maxine’s Restaurant in Blantyre, Malawi.
As Zimbabwe’s national herd continues to grow, and the quality of our beef moves up the scale from standard to choice and to prime, restaurants should soon be able to offer their customers the perfect steak.
 
Millers Restaurant
Shop 9
Ballantyne Park Shopping Centre
Tel.: 882747
– cmalakoff@gmail.com