1. Argentina and Uruguay have a per capita consumption of beef of 66kg, the highest in the world. Then comes the USA with 25kg. In the 50's, it was of 100kg, a staggering amount by any standard.
2. The first cows to populate the pampas were feral herds, descendants of wild Spanish stock. They were primarily hunted for their leather.
3. It wasn't until 1826 that the first Shorthorn bull was imported from the United Kingdom to improve the local stock. His name? Tarquino (yes, that’s Tarquin). A posh bull, I assume.
4. It was only at the end of the XIX century, with the invention of refrigerated trains and ships, that Argentine beef began to be exported to Europe. It's main market was the United Kingdom.
5. In the 1930's, most of the beef industry in Argentina was in the hands of a few British companies.
6. Although most of the corned beef eaten in the United Kingdom during the post- WWII rationing years came from Argentina, the product barely features in the Argentine diet.
7. Beef production has decreased steadily in the country over the last 20 years with stocks dwindling year after year. Argentina produces today more chicken than beef for the first time ever.
8. Argentine's don't only eat beef: pasta dishes are extremely popular and ravioli, gnocchi and spaghetti are normal features in most restaurants due to the strong Italian immigrant influence. Despite the country being an ex-Spanish colony, very few of our traditional dishes are of that origin.
John Rattagan is owner of El Buen Ayre, the first local and independent Argentine restaurant in London www.buenayre.co.uk
