Outback Steakhouse Mates & Steaks: Best Steaks Ever at a Dade City Cattle Ranch

Outback Steakhouse took its new Best Steaks Ever lineup out of the restaurant and onto a working cattle ranch north of Tampa. Mates & Steaks, created with Beef. It's What's For Dinner., brought invited guests to Bear Hill, a family-owned ranch in Dade City, for steaks, beef education and a night built to be shared. Here's what the event was, what it looked like from behind the camera, and how to try the steaks yourself.

What was Outback's Mates & Steaks event?

Mates & Steaks was an Outback Steakhouse event created to celebrate the brand's Best Steaks Ever campaign, in partnership with Beef. It's What's For Dinner. Guests tried Outback steaks, learned what makes quality beef, and were encouraged to share the experience with their own communities.

It was an invite-only, 21-and-over evening. Outback's brief to the creators it invited was simple: show the crave-worthy steaks, the good company and the ranch setting, in a way that felt natural and true to each creator's own style.

Where was it held?

The event took place at Bear Hill, a family-owned, women-run cattle ranch in Dade City, in Pasco County, north of Tampa. Bear Hill Cattle Company breeds cattle and sells genetics there, and its event space, The Venue at Bear Hill, hosted the night.

The setting was the point. There was a live cow pasture on site, so the conversation about where great beef comes from happened a few steps from the cattle themselves.

What are Outback's Best Steaks Ever?

Best Steaks Ever is Outback's push to raise the bar on its steaks, announced on October 8, 2026. Outback says it changed its cut specifications, hand-trimming, seasoning standards and searing, and the lineup now includes:

• Down Under Delmonico Ribeye, a new thick-cut ribeye
• New York Strip, new to Outback
• Victoria's Barrel-Cut Filet Mignon, hand-trimmed and shaped
• Center-Cut Sirloin, with Outback's signature seasoning and sear
• Rockhampton Ribeye, marbled for rich flavor

Outback also named Chef Efrem Cutler its Chief Steak Officer, with more than 45 years of culinary experience. Its own research found that only 41 percent of Americans feel confident they know the differences between cuts, which is exactly the gap an event like Mates & Steaks is built to close.

Who is Beef. It's What's For Dinner.?

Beef. It's What's For Dinner. is the consumer brand of the Beef Checkoff, the national program that funds beef promotion and research. The National Cattlemen's Beef Association manages it as a contractor to the Checkoff. Pairing it with Outback put ranchers and a steakhouse in the same room: the people who raise the beef, and a restaurant that cooks it.

What did the night look like?

From behind the camera, Mates & Steaks felt less like a product launch and more like a ranch party with a very good kitchen. A few of the moments we filmed:

• The arrival. A black barn at dusk, an Outback-red arch at the entrance, and a feed silo against a Florida sunset.
• The steak lounge. A cowhide rug, red armchairs and walls of Best Steaks Ever posters.
• The chefs. Steaks carved and plated in front of guests at a cowhide-print counter, with Chef Efrem Cutler himself, Outback's Chief Steak Officer, at the board.
• Dress the part. A wall of western wear, a hat bar where guests made cowboy hats their own, and an embroidery machine stitching custom designs.
• The details. A glowing green drink with a toy crocodile on the rim, a nod to Outback's Aussie roots.
• The room. Boots, hats and a dance floor that filled up.

How can you try Outback's Best Steaks Ever?

The easiest way is Outback's Aussie 3-Course Meal, which now includes a 6 oz. Center-Cut Sirloin, starting at $15.99. It comes with soup or salad and New York-style cheesecake for dessert. The offer is dine-in only at participating Outback Steakhouse locations, for a limited time, and prices may vary by location. It isn't available for curbside takeaway or delivery. Check Outback's offer page for your nearest restaurant before you go.

In Tampa Bay, that's a short trip: Outback is a Tampa original. The first Outback opened in Tampa in 1988, and its parent company, Bloomin' Brands, is still based here.

Why do brands bring creators to events like this?

A brand event only reaches the people in the room. Creators carry it to everyone who follows them, in their own voice, which is why Outback built Mates & Steaks around invited creators sharing the night with their communities.

For the brand, that turns one evening into weeks of content: arrival shots, chef moments, details, reactions. It also earns trust that an ad can't, because the audience sees the experience through someone they already follow. The setting matters too. A working cattle ranch says "quality beef" more clearly than any tagline, and it gives every creator something different to film.