It's hard for a cut of meat to surprise Nick Solares anymore — he's seen his fair share as the host of The Meat Show — but the Kawai Trading Co. facilities in Takamatsu, Kagawa were an endless source of disbelief and delight for this professional carnivore. A meat distributor specializing in olive-fed Wagyu beef, Kawai butchers and packages the prized cuts and sends them to the wholesalers that supply the area's top restaurants, hotels, and grocery stores. Watch the video above to join Solares on a tour of the property, an inside look at what happens to Wagyu beef between the farm and the table.
Joined by Yuko Suzuki, founder and president of Musubi (a food and beverage marketing company based in Osaka), and Koutarou Kawai, the executive vice president of Kawai, Solares witnesses the processing of a number of Wagyu beef sides, each weighing in at around 220 kilos. Even the lower-graded meat in the facility is impressive in terms of its marbling and quality, and the work of the company's master butchers, some who have been working at the craft for as many as 30 years, is mesmerizing to behold. Check out the video to see the production facility at work, and tune in next week to see the final step on the Wagyu trail: Finally, on Nick Solares' plate.
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