Hawke’s Bay steak a cut above the rest

Winners (from left) James and Nicky Gaddum and Robert Haselsteiner in the Matangi Boutique Butchery in Hastings, the front window of their now champion paddock-to-retail operation. Photo / Supplied.

It’s been a stellar couple of years for Hawke’s Bay boutique paddock-to-butchery operation Matangi as it continues the bounce-back from Cyclone Gabrielle by winning the Supreme Champion Award at the 2025 national Outstanding Food Producer Awards.

Winners (from left) James and Nicky Gaddum and Robert Haselsteiner in the Matangi Boutique Butchery in Hastings, the front window of their now champion paddock-to-retail operation. Photo / Supplied.

Also claiming the Emerson’s Paddock Champion title for a second year in a row, the success was part of a big night for Hawke’s Bay at last Thursday’s prizegiving ceremony in Auckland.

Also among winners in the 14 categories – which attracted 405 entries from 125 producers – was the sustainability champion, Hawke’s Bay Hohepa, the two operations continuing a string of Hawke’s Bay successes at the awards.

Matangi, which in March last year opened the specialised Matangi Boutique Butchery in the revitalised Hastings CBD block of Heretaunga St East, completing the chain from paddock-to-shop counter, claimed the top honour with its Matangi 30-45 Day dry-aged sirloin steak cutlet, with the judges’ acclamation: “Cuts like butter, Tender, juicy, melt-in-the-mouth. Unbelievable flavour.”

But two years ago, the operation was anything but melt-in-the-mouth and juicy as the partnership of farm-owner Robert Haselsteiner and farm and business manager combo James and Nicky Gaddum faced the challenges of slips and destroyed accesses and fences resulting from the cyclone’s ravaging of Hawke’s Bay in February 2023.

It all seemed so long ago on the stage in Auckland as the dreams going back more than a decade became reality – a vision Haselsteiner and Jamie Gaddum had to produce the best possible beef and, according to Nicky Gaddum, “keep it here for New Zealanders to enjoy”.

In 2019, Matangi started supplying top restaurants and opened an online platform to sell to the public, with plans before the cyclone for retailing the produce from their two Tukituki Valley farms.

Amid some trepidation as to whether the customers would still be there, they were back on their feet in just 10 months, the cyclone, if anything, advancing the plans as they strove to control the quality of the product throughout.

The operation has grown quickly to include themselves, two farm managers, three butchery staff and three others in the logistics and administration roles.

Only Jamie and Nicky Gaddum were able to go to Auckland, while the others kept the business open, but Nicky said the “whole team” will be celebrating this week.

Nicky Gaddum said the triumph came as “a huge shock, a wonderful shock”, and the cyclone feels “so long ago, but still close”.

Matangi first entered the competition in 2022, earning a couple of medals, and was about to send the 2023 entries away when Cyclone Gabrielle struck, putting an end to any hopes for that year.

Last year, Matangi claimed the paddock championship with its Bavette steak.

“The speed with which we have been able to achieve these results is testament to the huge amount of work the whole team have put in,” she said.

The feature of the award is its recognition of the dry-age process, on display in the butchery.

In relation to the success achieved by Hohepa Hawke’s Bay, judges said it is an “outstanding example of environmental and social sustainability”.

Doug Laing is a senior reporter based in Napier with Hawke’s Bay Today, and has 52 years of journalism experience, 42 of them in Hawke’s Bay, in news gathering, including breaking news, sports, local events, issues, and personalities.