Around the World with Beef: A Fresh Take on Ranch-to-Table

The California Beef Council Gives Food and Culinary Influencers an Exclusive Ranch & Restaurant Pop-Up Experience in San Diego

ROCKLIN, Calif., October 21, 2026--For those who are into food, a unique dining experience is a must. Unique, delicious dishes paired with wonderful views and perfect weather, along with lively company, is a winning recipe for any food aficionado. How about taking it one step further with a visit to a cattle ranch in the beautiful hills of San Diego County, followed by a sunset dining experience overlooking San Diego's Mission Bay?

Recently, the California Beef Council (CBC) hosted seventeen food and culinary social media influencers for an opportunity to get an in-person look at beef from cattle on the ranch to a one-of-a-kind dining experience with our Ranch & Restaurant Pop-Up event. These content creators, ranging from mega influencers with more than half a million followers to those with highly engaged followers in the tens of thousands, spent an afternoon on the Flying 'F' Ranch in San Diego County, home to ranchers Alli and Bryce Fender. Then it was off to a spectacular sunset pop-up dining experience at the home of San Diego food blogger, cookbook author, and on-camera host, Whitney Bond.

"These types of events are an opportunity for the CBC to provide a first-hand experience to both our food influencer partners and some of our California ranchers, and the Pop-Up would not have been possible this year without the funding support from the California Cattle Council," said Christie Van Egmond, the CBC's Director of Retail & Foodservice Marketing. "Our guests had a combined Instagram following of 37 million, and our hope is that those followers have a chance to vicariously share in the experience of these content creators."

The day kicked off at the San Diego Mission Bay Resort as influencers boarded the bus to head to Alli and Bryce Fender's ranch, the Flying 'F'. The first surprise for many of the guests was the fact that there is cattle ranching near San Diego.

"Part of our mission with events like these is to remind people how important agriculture is to California," Van Egmond said, "and it's almost everywhere in the state. It's important to show how urban areas exist in close proximity to rural areas. We're bringing people together from different walks of life, and they find common ground."

Guests walked the ranch with Alli and Bryce, seeing cows with their new calves, learning about how the Fenders track their herd with virtual fencing collars on their cattle, and getting a first-hand look at "upcycling" as Alli fed spent brewer's grain from Viewpoint Brewing Company to the Flying 'F' herd, turning what would have been destined for a landfill into a nutritious food source for her cattle. "The arrangement between the Flying 'F' Ranch and Viewpoint is mutually beneficial," Van Egmond said. "The spent brewer's grains stay out of the landfill, provide extra nutrition for the cattle, and solve a disposal problem for Viewpoint. It's a win all the way around and a part of the overall sustainability story of cattle ranching. Depending on where a ranch is located in the state, other agricultural food waste makes its way to cattle, including almond hulls, citrus peels, and cotton seeds."