Wagyu beef comes from many places and in many styles (read more about Wagyu here). We serve beef distinct from all others due to the unique approach of a 100% grass-fed diet. Wagyu cattle eating only grass on pastures, with no grain ever, create a balance of taste and texture like no other beef. Our Wagyu is not the ultra-rich A5 Kobe, nor does it intend to be.  Instead, our Wagyu, which we believe is the best-tasting beef in the world, is something you can create a whole, balanced and healthful meal around.

Even though it’s uncommon - or perhaps unheard of before First Light - to allow Wagyu to spend their entire lives in the field, grazing on grass and never eating grain, it is exactly how cattle were meant to live. And when we return to doing things as nature intended, good things happen. 

One of the good things is, simply put, nutritionally superior and healthier beef. Grass-fed beef has much higher concentrations of heart- and brain-healthy Omega-3 fatty acids.  Humans evolved eating a diet with an even balance of essential Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids.  Our modern diet, however, with processed, industrialized foods has thrown that balance way, way off.  We don’t get enough Omega-3s while we consume far too many Omega-6s. As an example, conventional, grain-fed beef typically contains 24 times more Omega-6s than Omega-3s. First Light beef, on the other hand, is about evenly split (1.3 to 1 to be exact).  Obviously, there is a huge difference between 24 to 1 and 1.3 to 1.  Eating an unbalanced diet of too much Omega-6s and too little Omega-3s has been linked to many diseases, including heart disease, obesity, and other inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. 

 In addition to the beneficial ratio between the Omega-3 to Omega-6 fatty acids, all Wagyu beef is known for having higher proportions of heart-healthy monounsaturated fatty acids, due to greater concentrations of oleic acid. Oleic acid, commonly found in olive oil, nuts, and avocados, has been shown in clinical studies to decrease the levels of LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol and increase the levels of HDL, or “good,” cholesterol, making wagyu beef a healthier alternative to regular beef. 

And finally, 100% grass-fed beef is higher than conventional beef in antioxidants, beta-carotene, and vitamins B, C, and E.

More important than simply containing more of the beneficial nutrients, all of this is delivered in a whole food as nature intended. It’s not a supplement or a highly processed food with additives.  We believe that nature is worthy of trust when it comes to human health.

At Matū we have designed this healthful, nutrient-rich beef into a balanced menu paired with vegetables in virtually every course.  We think that a great steak dinner should taste great, be good for you and you should feel good after you enjoy it.

That’s what (our mission of) reconnecting people to the joy and benefit of eating great beef means to us.