Tim Hamilton
21/03/2026
Place was quite busy with mixed groups.
I selected a Pan Seared Pork Chop off the specials board. When it turned up it looked magnificent: big lean lump of meat with a bone on the side.
But when I bit into it my heart sank. Rubbery, salty, almost texture-less remanufactured meat. Not dissimilar from the rubber chicken patties you can get at the supermarket.
Given Star's self-declared belief in their meat quality they should be embarrassed serving such rubbish. You can see from the pictures:
- "Painted" griddle lines on the side of the "chop" ("pan seared" my arse),
- Manufactured outer crust,
- Bone pressed into the outer side of the meat (I think the bone was genuine!).
You google "what is remanufactured meat" and you get the AI Overview:
\"Remanufactured meat\" - more commonly referred to in the food industry as restructured meat, reformed meat, or sectioned and formed meat - is a type of processed meat product created by taking low-value cuts, trimmings, or small pieces of meat and binding them together to resemble intact, whole-muscle cuts like steaks, roasts, or chops.
So you could say I felt ripped off! Stick with the steaks and the burgers.
I asked the wait staff about it and he said something along the lines of "oh the chef has been finding he gets some of these. He tries to pick them out, but some slip through". Well, there's no mistaking these now I know what to look for.