James and Nicky Goddum with Robert Haselsteiner in the newly opened Matangi boutique butchery in Heretaunga Street East, Hastings. Photo / Paul Taylor
James and Nicky Goddum with Robert Haselsteiner in the newly opened Matangi boutique butchery in Heretaunga Street East, Hastings. Photo / Paul Taylor
What a difference a year has made for the team at Matangi Angus Beef.
Twelve months ago, they were in a muddy battle to save their farms after Cyclone Gabrielle caused huge slips and destroyed fences and farm access.
This month, they are celebrating after opening the doors to their boutique butchery in the centre of the flourishing foodie district in Heretaunga Street, Hastings.
Matangi Angus Beef is a partnership between Robert Haselsteiner and James and Nicky Gaddum. Robert owns Matangi, James is the farm manager and Nicky is the business manager.
They have just opened the doors to a bright and spacious retail space with a state-of-the-art dry ageing cabinet, a showroom featuring the Matangi Beef story and a shopping area.
Nicky says that although they are beef producers, farming is at the core of their business.
“We first took over the farm in 2015, breeding the best product we possibly could. When Robert first purchased Matangi Station in 2015, he and Jamie had a collective vision to produce the best possible beef and keep it here for New Zealanders to enjoy,” Nicky said.
“In 2019, we started supplying top restaurants and opened an online platform to sell to the public. All was going well and then the cyclone hit. While the stock were unharmed, both the farms and butchery operation were significantly impacted.”
Before Cyclone Gabrielle, they had been discussing plans to open a retail space.
“The cyclone catapulted those plans and highlighted the importance of having a place where we had everything under our control.”
It took them 10 months to get back on their feet.
“It was nerve-wracking when we were ready to start again. We wondered if our customers would come back. We were thrilled to find they were ready and waiting. In fact, the growing support has been amazing.”
Customers can choose their meat and have it dry-aged in Matangi’s custom-built cabinet. Photo / Paul Taylor
The business has two farms in the Tukituki Valley, one owned by the Gaddums and the other by Haselsteiner. They take an ethical approach to farming, using a regenerative approach to achieve the best soil and water quality, ensuring they maintain and improve the environment for the future and obtain the best quality meat.
“We work on a specific breeding and management plan which includes consistent feeding and weight gain for every day of their lives.”
Matangi is breeding specifically for eating quality traits, such as marbling, which results in a tender, juicy product, full of flavour. Their beef is independently graded each week, and anything marbled that scored 4 or over (with certain pH and meat colour) is labelled as “Reserve Grade”. All Matangi Angus beef is hung on the bone for 21 days before the fine cutting is done by their in-house butchery team.
While James is a local lad, Nicky grew up in Whanganui. She was a clinical psychologist at Hawke’s Bay Hospital until 2020.
She loves Hawke’s Bay’s climate and says it’s a great place to bring up their two boys, aged 11 and 13.
“We also love being a part of the rebirth of the eastern block of Hastings. People can come in here and have a special experience. You can choose your meat and have it dry-aged in our custom-built cabinet. The meat becomes more tender and stronger in flavour. I believe we are the only beef producers in New Zealand to have one like it. The response from the community has been incredibly positive.”
On Tuesday to Wednesday, they have a selection of vacuum-packed cuts available, and Thursday and Friday there’s a full retail cabinet to choose from. Orders can also be placed online and collected instore.
To beef it all up Matangi Angus Beef has won a heap of gold medals in the 2024 Outstanding Food Producer Awards.
But that’s not all. Later in the year, watch out for them on Country Calendar.
Outstanding Food Producer Award Gold Medals
Matangi 30-44 day Dry Aged Tomahawk Steak
Matangi Bavette
Matangi Eye Fillet Steaks
Matangi Scotch Fillet Steaks
Matangi Short Ribs
Matangi Sirloin Steaks
For more information and shop hours go to matangi.co.nz
Linda Hall is a Hastings-based assistant editor for Hawke’s Bay Today, and has 30 years of experience in newsrooms. She writes regularly on arts and entertainment, lifestyle and hospitality, and pens a column.
