The Full Story
Our process
Country Cooked is an Australian-owned food manufacturing business specialising in bespoke, fully cooked protein solutions. Built on generations of butchery and foodservice expertise, from our certified facility in Melbourne, we supply foodservice, retail, QSR and manufactures – supporting businesses scale, launch new products, and simplify back-of-house with ready-to-use cooked meats designed for purpose.
Volume-Driven Advantage
As a high-volume producer, we’re built to scale, and our customers benefit directly. By consolidating production and streamlining operations, we’re able to offer cost-effective solutions, driven by our customers’ expectations and price points.
Consistency at Scale
Whether you're running one site or managing a multi-location operation, consistency is everything. We use proven cooking methods and portion-controlled packaging formats to deliver the same result across every batch, every time
Longer Shelf Life, Less Pressure
Our cooked chilled products offer a 12-week refrigerated shelf life, and our frozen range extends up to 18 months, giving you greater flexibility with inventory control and production planning.
Optimised for Kitchen Efficiency
Kitchens typically spend up to 70% on operating costs and overheads. Our solutions cut those costs, giving you back time, control, and margin.
Better Yield, Better Margin
Our sous vide process locks in moisture and maximise retention. Any moisture lost during our process does not contribute to the final product weight, so you only paying for usable protein.
Food Safety You Can Trust
Food safety is at the core of everything we do. Our cooking process eliminates harmful pathogens, and our sealed, portioned packaging minimises handling in your kitchen. We operate under the strict guidelines of Food Standard Australia and New Zealand and hold SQF certification, consistently achieving top-tier audit results thanks to our dedicated QA team.
New Product Development
We thrive on collaboration. Our team works closely with clients to develop tailored product solutions. Whether you want to reengineer a menu favourite, launch a new range, or solve a back-of-house challenge. With our team of chefs and food technologists, we turn ideas into real, scalable products.
National Supply Distribution
From Melbourne to Perth, we’ve got you covered. With a robust national distribution network and reliable cold chain partners, we deliver across foodservice, retail, QSR, and B2B channels. Wherever you are, we’re ready to serve.
Our Values​​
PASSION
Empower and inspire. Excite and delight. Create with craftmanship, satisfaction and care.
PREDICTABILITY
Reliable and dependable. Consistent in quality and performance. Meet and exceed expectations.
GROWTH
Lead with vision. Adapt to change. Innovate with insight. Personal and business growth will come.
Our Accreditations & Compliance
Food safety is at the core of everything we do. Our cooking process eliminates harmful pathogens, and our sealed, portioned packaging minimises handling in your kitchen. We operate under the strict guidelines of Food Standard Australia and New Zealand and hold SQF certification, consistently achieving top-tier audit results thanks to our dedicated QA team.
AQIS / DAFF Approved
As an approved meat exporter, we meet the rigorous standards set by the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF). This ensures our products comply with Australia’s strictest biosecurity and export requirements, allowing us to confidently supply both domestic and international markets.
PrimeSafe Certified
As a licensed meat processor and supplier, we are fully compliant with PrimeSafe regulations, maintaining strict hygiene and food safety practices across all stages of our operations.
AUS-MEAT Accredited
Our AUS-MEAT accreditation ensures consistent grading, classification, and portioning of our products. This is particularly critical for sectors like healthcare and aged care, where standardised nutritional content is essential.
SQF Certified (Safe Quality Food – Level 3)
​We are SQF Level 3 certified, demonstrating our commitment to a rigorous, internationally recognised food safety system. This global certification ensures our meat and cooked meat products consistently meet the highest safety and quality standards.
HACCP Compliant
We follow HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) principles a proactive, preventative approach to food safety. Through regular risk assessments and controls, we ensure our products are safe, consistent, and compliant with all relevant regulations.
Halal Certified
We maintain Halal certification, offering products that are processed in line with Islamic dietary laws. This allows us to provide trusted Halal options for culturally diverse and compliant foodservice environments.
Our Story
History
From Italian Migrant to a Modern Australian Food Business
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We trace our roots to the mountainside village of Filetto, in Abruzzo, Italy, where Eusebio Marcocci was born. With no schools nearby and the country devastated by war, many villagers sought a better life abroad. In 1956, 13-year-old Eusebio and three of his brothers migrated to Australia, settling in Melbourne.
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As a new migrant, Eusebio faced racism and hardship. He left high school to pursue butchery. By the age of 17, he had opened his first butcher shop in Brunswick. Through new partnerships, he grew the business into a network of 49 butcher shops across Melbourne.
A big part of this success came from his ability to tailor each store to its local community. In diverse suburbs like Footscray, Sunshine, Springvale, and Richmond, Eusebio hired Vietnamese managers who could connect with customers and customise the product range to their needs, a forward-thinking approach at the time.
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But in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the landscape shifted. when the major supermarkets began selling meat at loss-leading prices, and the traditional retail butcher model became unsustainable. By the early 2000s, we had closed our final shop in Hawthorn and consolidated our operations into a central Carlton facility.
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It was then that the University Meat was born, named in tribute to our location near Melbourne University. We transitioned into wholesale supply, and the business thrived.
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As the next generation joined the company, fresh vision and ideas followed. Loui Marcocci recognised the growing demand for convenient protein solutions within the foodservice industry. This led to the creation of Country Cooked, which became an important part of the range of services offered by the University Food Group.
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Country Cooked focuses not only on providing value-added cooked meats and sous vide products that help kitchens run more efficiently but also on supporting our customers to grow their businesses and expand into new markets.
Timeline
1956 Italy to Melbourne
Eusebio Marcocci migrated to Australia from Abruzzo, Italy at the age of 13 years old, with his 3 older brothers – leaving his parents in war-torn Italy.
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1960 Melbourne’s Butcher shops
After many years of trying to complete his schooling - Eusebio was mentored into butchery as a craft and during the next decade he and his business partners set up more than 49 retail butcher shops across Victoria.
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1979 University Meat
Eusebio consolidated all his operations located at 195 Cardigan St, Carlton where University Meat was born. The name chosen in homage to being surrounded by Melbourne's top universities.
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1990 Melbourne Coffee
Expanding further into Melbourne's hospitality industry, the family invested into a Melbourne-based coffee business, which evolved to become Service Sphere in 2006.
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1993 My Room
Eusebio & Giovanna Marcocci and two other families, founded My Room Children’s Cancer Charity due to their youngest son being diagnosed with cancer.
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2012 Expansion into cooked meats
Acquisition of Country Cooked allowed University Food Group to expand operations to bespoke cooked meat products for retail and foodservice on a national scale.​