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Ever wondered how large-scale production of jerky and biltong works? This article takes you into the heart of DJays Gourmet’s Perth factory where a lot of local effort goes into the making of Australia’s favourite biltong and jerky.
We’ll delve into:
One of the key things differentiating DJays Gourmet from its competitors is that we genuinely love local.
We do everything in-house so there’s a huge sense of pride in what we do, we support local farmers and we know exactly where all our ingredients come from which is a big tick in terms of food safety reassurance.
In the words of legendary Aussie artist, Paul Kelly – the story of our Malaga factory is a case of ‘From Little Things, Big Things Grow’.
The company’s original founders, Jo and Derek, left South Africa in the eighties and settled in Perth, Western Australia. Derek was a highly skilled butcher and the two of them started making traditional South African dried meat snacks for family and friends from their home.
Word quickly spread about their tasty jerky, biltong and dried sausage (droewors), orders started flooding in and the two of them were soon working day and night. They knew things had to change if they were to keep up with demand, and so they took a family decision to take the business to the next level by building a HACCP-approved food processing facility in the Perth suburb of Malaga where they could produce their popular treats on a much larger scale.
And so in 1999, their dream and their factory came to life – and to this day, DJays Gourmet is still owned and run by generations of the same family and it remains steadfast to its founding principles of producing the highest quality products backed by friendly and responsive customer service.
While the factory capacity has expanded over the years and DJays is now Australia’s leading supplier of packaged jerky and biltong, the business retains its strong local focus. As emigrants, Derek and Jo knew the value of local community support and to this day, DJays is a proudly local company with a national focus.
Our jerky production process is actually very simple.
We use only the finest natural ingredients, traditional recipes and time-honoured production methods. We also only use premium Australian beef, produced by our amazing local farmers.
We first take a whole primal of beef – usually lean topside or lean silverside – slice it and then add our delicious marinade and spice blend. Our recipes are secret, but all our ingredients are completely natural, sourced locally and we vary the mix depending on what flavour of jerky we’re making. Have a read of this article on different jerky flavours to learn more about all the delectable choices.
We leave the beef marinating in the mix for about 12 hours, then it’s ready for drying. Unlike our biltong which we air dry over several days, we dehydrate our jerky overnight. Many other large-scale producers dry their jerky over relatively high heat, but we keep our temperature low to ensure ours has a tender, just-right bite.
As soon as our jerky specialists are satisfied that the jerky is perfectly dehydrated, the meat gets chopped into thinner strips and packed ready for distribution for online jerky orders and wholesale customers around Australia.
If you’re keen to find out more, this article on the differences between biltong and jerky is really informative.
We’re totally committed to supporting local through our employment policies, our supply chain and our ongoing social responsibility activities. We love to support this beautiful country which we have called home for over four decades, and will always look to local producers first before outsourcing any business.
We employ over 30 staff at our Malaga factory and have always had a strong focus on building relationships with our local communities through sponsorships and donations to charities, schools, sporting codes teams and educational initiatives like ‘Ag in a Box’.
DJays has always been a family owned and managed business – and we like to think of our staff, our suppliers and our customers as part of our wider family.
Remember, if you’re a Perth local, you’re welcome to pop in to the factory and get your jerky directly from us. We also make fresh beef burgers and boerewors (traditional coiled sausage from South Africa) for direct collection from Malaga, so that’s another big plus for our local community!
You can order your jerky online or discover where to buy jerky in Perth here.
Food safety is a huge priority for us. When a customer munches on our jerky, they need complete reassurance that the product is 100% safe and healthy to eat. Our Malaga plant is HACCP-accredited, our processes have been evaluated by the regulatory authorities and we maintain the highest food safety standards. We might be a local business, but we operate according to the strictest national standards.
Consistency in the food business is also critical. As a customer, you want to feel confident that every time you open a packet of jerky from DJays, it’ll be the same as the previous time. And the next time. By making all our products locally, we are able to meet demand and control the process to ensure our products are always of the highest quality and are consistent.
As we said, all DJays products are made in-house, with a firm focus on using only the very best locally produced ingredients. Premium Australian beef comes into the Malaga factory and our jerky experts turn it into the most delicious, healthy, convenient dried meaty treat a day or two later.
The love and support extended to the company’s emigrant founders by their local community has never been forgotten, and a deep appreciation for all things local and an unwavering commitment to supporting their adopted home country of Australia is as strong today as it was when Derek and Jo first started DJays all those years ago.
Arron Zamel has been General Manager of DJays Gourmet since 2015 and under his expert leadership, the company has cemented its reputation as Australia’s leading supplier of packaged jerky and biltong.
His strong family connection to South Africa, his marketing and management degree from Monash University, his technical expertise plus his experience as a successful entrepreneur and import/export business owner made him the ideal candidate for the challenging position.
Additionally, Arron’s innovative approach to management, his proven brand-building credentials, his strong customer focus and youthful energy have ensured that DJays Gourmet’s high-quality biltong and jerky have become Australia's dried meat treats of choice.
He understands traditional South African flavours and the precision techniques required to create truly authentic biltong, jerky and droewors (dried sausage). Part of his job is overseeing operations at DJays' purpose-built facility in Perth, WA where tons of Australian beef goes into making premium dried meat products each month for distribution to retail and wholesale customers across Australia.
For more insights into Arron’s world, visit the DJays Gourmet website, check out their Facebook page or follow them on Instagram @djaysgourmet.
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