Here is my latest youtube video which is an exclusive behind the scenes footage from the contest and a chat with some of the judges.

Since 2015 I have been a judge at the World Steak Challenge, a contest which sets out each year to find the best steak in the whole world. If you have read my previous posts about the contest you will know that all steaks are numbered and judged blind, so the 60 international judges don’t know the country of origin, how the animal was raised or what it was fed.  

The contest starts by judging the fillet steaks, because the flavour is more delicate, then onto sirloin steaks, then ribeyes and finally the Waygu steaks (fillet, sirlion, ribeye) are judged in a separate catagory because the taste is different.  Indeed, the wagyu are cooked on a flattop rather than the grill which would cause too much flare up and spoil the taste.   All steaks are seasoned with sea salt, no pepper, just before they are cooked to medium rare. They are then rested before being taken to a judge’s table.

When someone enters the contest they don’t just send one steak in but the centre cut of the whole sirloin (for example), because each judging table is presented with a raw and a cooked (medium rare) steak.   Both of the steaks are judged for their appearance, colour, marbling, fat trim consistency and the cooked steak is also judged for the flavour, tenderness, texture and succulence.

Each competitor decides how long they show age their steak and whether is should be dry aged or wet aged. The old fashioned term for aging meat was hung because the meat was hung on a hook in the fridge, and of course past winners will have an influence on the following year which helps to raise standards across the world.

These days the steaks are cooked on Synergy grills https://synergygrill.com/ which are gas grills that also have a convection fan to help keep the temperature of the grills consistent when cooking over 500 steaks.

The chefs working on the grills during the contest get several days training before hand so the contest runs as smooth as glass.  The wait staff are also trained specially for the contest so they understand the importance of the flow of the contest, so no steak is served cold and no new steaks are taken to the table until the last ones are cleared, to give all steaks their best chance of winning.

The judging is a two day process; the gold medal winners from day 1 are rejudged on day 2 to decide who is crowned the World Steak Champion. This year a 32-day aged Irish angus striploin that will be available in Lidl was named as the World’s Best Steak. Look out for the World Steak Challenge logo on the packaging!

Here are more of the this year’s winning steaks.

World Steak Challenge 2025 best fillet steaks

World Steak Challenge 2025 best Sirloin Steaks

World Steak Challenge 2025 best Ribeyes

These days because the contest gets entries from around the world the organisers felt it would be good to also highlight the best steaks in each continent. And the last steak picture is also the winner in the Wagyu catagory (fillet, sirloin and Ribeye).

World Steak Challenge 2025 best steaks in North and South America

World Steak Challenge 2025 best steak in Asia and Oceania

World Steak Challenge 2025©Kevin Ashton2025