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Dawn Meats and Lidl take home the World’s Best Steak for Irish grass fed sirloin
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Ireland secures a total of 24 gold medals
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Out of 304 medals awarded, Ireland takes home the greatest medal haul of 68 gold, silver or bronze medal.
London, November 11th 2025 – Ireland has won the World's Best Steak award at the World Steak Challenge in London. In addition to this, Ireland landed a record-breaking 68 medals at the prestigious awards. With 24 gold medals, Ireland was the top-performing country overall, and won the grand prize for Irish grass fed steak. The awards for Ireland showcases the exceptional quality of Ireland’s grass-fed beef from heritage breeds.
Dawn Meats and Lidl won the coveted award of the World’s Best Steak for a grass fed Angus sirloin. The steak is sold by Lidl in Ireland and comes from cattle bred in Waterford. Of the World’s Best Steak from Ireland, the judges said, “The tenderness is similar to the tenderloin but it also carries a wonderful taste similar to a ribeye”, adding that it “offers the best in terms of texture and flavour.”
Along with winning the World’s Best Steak, Dawn Meats secured 11 gold medals for Ireland at the competition.
Niall Browne, Chief Executive of Dawn Meats said:
“This is fantastic news for Dawn Meats and our partners at Lidl. As one of Europe’s leading meat companies, Dawn Meats is committed to producing high-quality, sustainable, nutritious and great-tasting grass-fed beef products. We consistently strive to achieve high standards for our customers and it’s wonderful when our hard work is recognised, particularly by as prestigious a competition as the World Steak Challenge. Our 32-day aged Irish striploin is made from grass-fed Irish beef supplied by the farming families we work with. It’s on sale in Lidl and it’s readily available, so shoppers can try it for themselves. I would like to thank the staff at Dawn Meats, the farmers who supply us, our partners at Lidl and the judges of the competition."
Image: Neil Curran, Lidl Ireland, Robert Hatton, Lidl Ireland, and Neil Lanigan, Dawn Meats at the World Steak Challenge 2025 in London, UK.
Robert Ryan, Lidl Ireland and Northern Ireland Chief Executive Officer said:
“Together with our valued Irish supplier, Dawn Meats, we’re immensely proud our own-brand Irish grass-fed steak has been recognised as World’s Best Steak at the World Steak Challenge. At Lidl, providing the highest quality products at the best value on the market has always been our promise to our customers and this recognition underscores our strong commitment to providing world-class Irish produce at the best value on the market to shoppers across the country.”
Speaking at the awards in London last night, Mark Zieg, Bord Bia’s Beef Sector Manager, said:
“After three years of taking away a record number of medals in the World Steak Challenge, it is a fantastic win for Ireland to be awarded the World’s Best Steak award. Ireland’s performance at the World Steak Challenge is testament to the dedication and quality of our farmers and processors. Grass-fed beef from Ireland, produced under the Origin Green programme, continues to set the global standard for quality and sustainable production. These awards validate and reinforce Ireland’s position as a world leader in beef production.”
The awards ceremony took place last night in London at the Smith & Wollensky restaurant, where ABP Foodgroup Ireland, Ashbourne Meats, Dawn Meats, Liffey Meats and Redmond Farm were among the finalists across the fillet, ribeye and sirloin grass fed steak categories.
Irish grass fed rib eye proved the most popular steak securing 12 gold medals at the competition, followed by sirloin which won eight and fillet which took home four. Among the standout Irish winners were Dawn Meats, Ashbourne Meats, and ABP Ireland, whose entries impressed judges with their marbling, tenderness, and flavour profiles.
The World Steak Challenge is now in its eleventh year, and is regarded as the ultimate benchmark for steak producers worldwide. This year’s judging panel, comprising over 60 international experts, assessed entries on both raw and cooked criteria. 304 medals were awarded in total with Ireland taking home the greatest medal haul of 68 gold, silver or bronze medals.
The World Steak Challenge, launched in 2015, is a recognised stamp of quality to support world-class steak production on a global platform, giving steak producers from across the world a unique opportunity to benchmark product quality, breed credentials and processing standards on the international stage.
The awards are organised by William Reed Business Media, the publisher behind the World’s 50 Best Restaurants. The World Steak Challenge gives steak producers and suppliers the opportunity to showcase their product quality, breed credentials and processing standards on an international stage.
For more information on Ireland’s award-winning beef and the Origin Green programme, visit www.bordbia.ie.
To view the full list of World Steak Challenge medallists, click here.