Kitchen Cuts was created to be a premier processing plant with a firm protocol to produce a consistent, high-quality product for our customers. Throughout the planning process we kept to our commitment to never take short cuts and do things the right way, from the very first time. And so, after five years of fusing our dreams with our values, we at Kitchen Cuts brought this vision into reality. In 2014, Kitchen Cuts opened its doors to a state-of-the-art USDA processing plant staffed by a team of experienced and highly trained butchers. True to our mission of marketing a product that we believe in, we sought out and teamed up with ranchers and farmers that both raise and process their meat humanely. Apart from producing a dependable, high-quality product, Kitchen Cuts took it a step further with added value items.
We at Kitchen Cuts wanted to invest in developing brands that added value to our customer’s menu boards. Under our Chloe’s label, for example, we offer an antibiotic-free chicken product that is sustainable, humanely raised, and environmentally friendly. Additionally embarking on the advent of our other added value items we offer: our natural beef brand, Nature First; our Angus beef program, Tristar Angus; and Harvest Moon Seafood.
Any processing plant can dice and slice a bunch of proteins, but Kitchen Cuts puts the emphasis on producing a collection of high-quality products while cutting labor and maximizing yields. Although Kitchen Cuts is new as a company, we are not new in our foundations, and are thus determined to redefine
Expertly Trimmed to
PERFECTION
Everytime
Raul Tapia Sr.
CEO/Owner
Mr. Tapia began his career in the foodservice industry in 1972 as a truck driver. In 1978 he was promoted to a sales position in which he worked to become the top sales executive for Vicente Arranaga Foodservice. In 1980, he bought his own restaurant called Casa Gamino and after 27 years of proprietorship he sold it to his long time manager. Mr. Tapia is active in the daily purchasing activities of the company. His lines include: dairy, canned tomatoes, groceries, cooking bases, and spices. He has negotiated many contracts and block buys for our accounts and continues to be the cornerstone of Tapia Brothers Co.
Ramon Tapia President of Sales/Owner
Mr. Ramon Tapia began his career in the restaurant business at the young age of 13. He started as a dishwasher and progressively moved up the ranks until he joined his brothers in the distribution arena. He started as a picker, and was then promoted to driver where he exhibited great rapport with his customers on his routes. Soon after customers requested Ramon to be their exclusive sales representative. Over the years, Mr. Tapia has built strong relationships with our customers, and has helped them expand their businesses through his guidance, ideas, and new product offerings. As the President of Sales, Mr. Ramon Tapia is the key component to relationships that have spanned over 30 years.
Frank Tapia Produce Buyer/Owner
The youngest of the three brothers, Frank Tapia, was crucial to the foundation of Tapia Brothers Company. After 5 years as a driver for Vicente Arranaga Foodservice, his entrepreneurial spirit and desire to make a better living for his family led him to start his own business: Frank’s Produce. Mr. Tapia has purchased and sold produce for over 35 years, this experience has allowed him to consistently seek out the freshest quality within the vast produce marketplace. He only approves quality merchandise and actively negotiates pricing with packers directly. Moreover, on a daily basis, he inspects fresh chilies, tomatoes, and avocados personally. His product knowledge and personal investment is unmatched in the field of produce.
Raul Tapia, Jr. Vice President of Operations
Son of Raul Tapia Sr., “Junior” as he is referred throughout the industry has been involved with the business since the company’s fruition. As a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara, Junior came on board full-time in 2000. He oversees and is a part all daily activities in Tapia Brothers. With 15 years of experience in purchasing and impeccable management skills, Junior is an essential component to the Tapia Brothers team.
Erik Tapia Vice President of Sales
Erik is the youngest son of Raul Tapia Sr. He became Vice President of Sales in 2011 after a successful campaign as General Manager of our Phoenix Division which he oversaw and opened himself in 2006. While holding the General Manager position he also headed sales at his respective division and had double digit growth every year he was in the position. Ownership saw the potential and promoted him to Vice President of Sales in 2011 and now is in charge of key accounts, 38 sales executives, and 4 divisions. Erik graduated from Fresno State University in 2006 where he graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration.
All
vegetarian
Fed
Tristar Angus
Committed to providing for our customers the best products available, Kitchen Cuts set out to create an iconic brand dedicated to offering the highest quality Angus beef available. The result of those efforts is our flagship achievement, Tristar Angus: quality beef that is truly a ‘cut above the rest.’ Offered in a variety of cuts and weights to meet the specific needs of our customers, Tristar Angus is guaranteed to deliver an exceptional eating experience, while adhering to strict animal and environmental requirements.
What make Angus beef so special?
Angus cattle are a breed of cattle developed from animals native to the counties of Aberdeenshire and Angus in Scotland. The meat is very popular in Japan for its marbling qualities and is widely considered for its superior flavor characteristics over other breeds.
Nature First
When Kitchen Cuts first set out to offer to their loyal customers a superior line of high quality protein products, the key theme defining this endeavor was to embrace a natural ‘back to basics” model and a dedication to put ‘tried-and-true’ agricultural traditions first. The result of this commitment produced a variety of high quality beef products under the eventual brand name, not surprisingly, Nature First.
Nature First beef products are produced specifically to meet the increasingly discerning needs of the environmentally and health conscious consumer and are guaranteed to consistently provide the high-quality, natural production practices our customers increasingly demand. From cattle selection to regular testing to your grocer’s meat case – we follow strict guidelines that make the Nature First brand a unique approach to the production of all natural beef. No other natural beef provider is as committed to our strict approach in providing our customers not only a delicious, tender beef as part of a balanced operation, but one that is firmly rooted in a sustainable and ethical business philosophy: a philosophy that puts nature first.
Get back to nature. Get Nature First.
Chloe’s chicken
Chloe is a first or given name for girls and is derived from the Greek goddess Demeter, which refers to the young, green foliage or shoots of plants. Historically it has many auspicious agricultural references and in a broader sense, symbolizes a period of re-birth. It is this reason for which we chose it as the name for our new line of premium quality, naturally raised chicken available exclusively from Kitchen Cuts.
An average of 9 billion chickens are grown and processed in the U.S. annually, yet only 3% are raised in healthy and sustainable growing environments. With Chloe’s chicken, Kitchen Cuts proudly embraces the “back to basics” wholesome approach to sustainable farming practices and is committed to paving the way for modern adaptations of ancient wholesome techniques that continually demonstrate highly efficient policy standards within the Poultry industry. Our ultimate goal is to provide our customers with an economical, all natural, hand raised, vegetarian fed product.
Chloe’s: The New Age of Antibiotic Free (ABF) Chicken
- No administered antibiotics, ever
- No animal byproducts, ever
- No cages, free roaming in fresh air and sunlight
- No stress, all natural and clean environments
- No overcrowding
- No beak trimming
- All vegetarian fed
Chloe’s chicken is hand-trimmed portioned and farm-to-table cuts.
Fresh & Frozen
- Whole Chicken wogs
- Boneless/skinless breast meat
- boneless/skinless thigh & leg meat
- 3, 4, 5 and 6 oz. portioned breast meat
- Breast meat diced
- breast meat strips & tenders
- dark meat diced
- dark meat strips
- wings
Fully Cooked ready-to-eat products
- Shredded breast meat
- diced breast & thigh meat
- breast tenders, nuggets & fritters
Harvest Moon
Kitchen Cuts is proud to offer our premium seafood line where quality is the cornerstone of our selection process. With a focus on best harvesting and processing practices, we remain dedicated to sourcing all Harvest Moon products from reputable suppliers where sustainability remains a top priority. As a result of these efforts, you will find a full line of top quality seafood, all carefully portioned and packaged to further enhance the superior tasting experience that is sure to impress even the most discerning palates.
Grinders
Ground beef, beef mince, minced meat, hamburger (in the United States) is a ground meat made of beef, finely chopped by a meat grinder. It is literally used in countless recipes from tacos and hamburgers to meatloaf and spaghetti, and the methods of its production are equally numerous. To ensure for our customers the most stringent standards of consistency, Kitchen Cuts built a complete state-of-the-art, in-house ground beef processing facility, the result of which is Grinders.
Offered as high quality 5lb. ground beef CHUBS in addition to our handcrafted Grinders Patties, our customers can rest assured that all Grinders products are prepared with the utmost care and consistency promising a product of uncompromising quality and flavor.
Prime Quality
angus beef
how is beef graded?
IN THE UNITED STATES, THE USDA AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (AMS) OPERATES A VOLUNTARY BEEF GRADING PROGRAM. THE MEAT PROCESSOR PAYS FOR A TRAINED AMS MEAT GRADER TO GRADE BEEF FOR QUALITY CONSISTENCY. USERS ARE REQUIRED TO COMPLY WITH FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE (FSIS) GRADE LABELING PROCEDURES. THE OFFICIAL USDA GRADE DESIGNATION CAN APPEAR IN ONE OR ANY COMBINATION OF THE FOLLOWING WAYS: CONTAINER MARKINGS, INDIVIDUAL BAGS, LEGIBLE ROLLER BRAND APPEARING ON THE MEAT ITSELF, OR BY A USDA SHIELD STAMP THAT INCORPORATES THE QUALITY AND/OR YIELD GRADE.
THERE ARE EIGHT BEEF QUALITY GRADES. THE GRADES ARE BASED ON TWO MAIN CRITERIA: THE DEGREE OF MARBLING (INTRAMUSCULAR FAT) IN THE BEEF, AND THE MATURITY. SOME MEAT SCIENTISTS OBJECT TO THE CURRENT SCHEME OF USDA GRADING SINCE IT IS NOT BASED ON DIRECT MEASUREMENT OF TENDERNESS, ALTHOUGH MARBLING AND MATURITY ARE INDICATORS OF TENDERNESS AND DEGREE OF FLAVOR. MOST BEEF OFFERED FOR SALE IN SUPERMARKETS IN THE US IS GRADED US CHOICE OR SELECT. US PRIME BEEF IS SOLD TO HOTELS AND UPSCALE RESTAURANTS, AND USUALLY MARKETED AS SUCH.
THE FOLLOWING LIST OUTLINES THE VARIOUS GRADES:
U.S. PrimE
HIGHEST IN QUALITY AND INTRAMUSCULAR FAT, LIMITED SUPPLY. CURRENTLY, ABOUT 2.9% OF BEEF GRADES AS PRIME.
U.S. ChoicE
HIGH QUALITY, WIDELY AVAILABLE IN FOODSERVICE INDUSTRY AND RETAIL MARKETS. CHOICE CARCASSES ARE 53.7% OF THE FED CATTLE TOTAL. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CHOICE AND PRIME IS LARGELY DUE TO THE FAT CONTENT IN THE BEEF. PRIME TYPICALLY HAS A HIGHER FAT CONTENT (MORE AND WELL DISTRIBUTED INTRAMUSCULAR “MARBLING”) THAN CHOICE.
U.S. Select
LOWEST GRADE COMMONLY SOLD AT RETAIL, ACCEPTABLE QUALITY, BUT IS LESS JUICY AND TENDER DUE TO LEANNESS.
U.S. Standard
LOWER QUALITY, YET ECONOMICAL, LACKING MARBLING.
U.S. Commercial
LOW QUALITY, LACKING TENDERNESS, PRODUCED FROM OLDER ANIMALS.
U.S. Utility U.S. Cutter U.S. Canner
UTILITY, CUTTER, AND CANNER GRADE ARE RARELY USED IN FOODSERVICE OPERATIONS AND PRIMARILY USED BY PROCESSORS AND CANNERS.
Cutting to the Chase on beef cuts
TENDERLOIN, TOP SIRLOIN, ROUND, SHORTRIB AND RIB EYE. WE’VE ALL HEARD THESE CUTS AMONG COUNTLESS OTHERS BUT DO ANY OF US TRULY UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCES AND THE DISTINCT CHARACTERISTICS OF EACH? LET’S EXPLORE FURTHER. CUTS OF BEEF ARE FIRST DIVIDED INTO PRIMAL CUTS, PIECES OF MEAT INITIALLY SEPARATED FROM THE ANIMAL DURING BUTCHERING. THESE ARE BASIC SECTIONS FROM WHICH STEAKS AND OTHER SUBDIVISIONS ARE CUT. THE TERM “PRIMAL CUT” IS QUITE DIFFERENT FROM “PRIME CUT”, USED TO CHARACTERIZE CUTS CONSIDERED TO BE OF HIGHER QUALITY. SINCE THE ANIMAL’S LEGS AND NECK MUSCLES DO THE MOST WORK, THEY ARE THE TOUGHEST; THE MEAT BECOMES MORE TENDER AS DISTANCE FROM HOOF AND HORN INCREASES. TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THESE CUTS SIMPLY HOVER OVER ANY OF THE ILLUSTRATED SECTIONS BELOW AND THE NEXT TIME YOU FIND YOURSELF AT YOUR FAVORITE STEAK HOUSE YOU MAY EVEN TEACH YOUR WAITER A THING OR TWO!
Swipe
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