Meet Canada's Best Butchers: Butchery Team Canada
Photo by Rachel Callan (rachelcallan.com)
“Members of Butchery Team Canada from left to right are Taryn Lee Barker, The Little Butcher (Port Moody, BC), Damian Goriup, Florence Meats (Oakville, ON), Corey Meyer, ACME Meat Market (Edmonton, AB), Peter Baarda, J&G Quality Meats (Burlington, ON)”, Dave Vander Velde, VG Meats (Stoney Creek, ON), Brent Herrington, Herrington’s Quality Butchers (Port Perry, ON) and Elyse Chatterton, Popowich Meat Company (Edmonton, AB).
Butchery Team Canada Prepares for the 2022 “Olympics of Meat”
Every two years, the best butchers from around the world come together to compete in the World Butchers’ Challenge. This year, Butchery Team Canada will be competing for the first time in this global event which is taking place in Sacramento on September 2 and 3.
The objective of the World Butchers' Challenge is to develop an environment where butchers strive to exceed current industry practices in the areas of general workmanship, meat cutting, displaying and the creative usage of beef, lamb, pork and chicken products.
In the culinary world, chefs are often considered the ‘rock stars’ while butchers are often taken for granted. The World Butchers’ Challenge sheds light on the art of butchery by putting butchers on centre stage. It helps to celebrate butchers, while raising awareness of the industry and highlighting how important their skills are to the food chain.
Photo by Rachel Callan (rachelcallan.com)
The World Butchers’ Challenge is conducted over a three-hour and fifteen-minute period from start to finish, including final clean up. Competing teams are provided with a side of beef, a side of pork, a whole lamb and five chickens which they must then transform into a themed-display of value-added products. Teams are allowed to provide their own seasonings, spices, marinades and garnish to finish products that are designed to inspire and push the boundaries. All finished products must be suitable for cooking and marketability in a retail environment. Independent judges score each team based on technique & skill, workmanship, product innovation, overall finish, cleanliness and presentation.
Each team is comprised of six experienced butchers, and one alternate, chosen based on qualifications and experience. Teams are broken into three main roles – breakers/boners, slicers/trimmers and finishers/garnishers. However, butchers must work as a team to deliver all requirements, including added-value creativity within the 3.25-hour time limit. Hence, years of intensive team planning, ongoing information and idea exchanges, high-calibre coaching and multiple demanding practices.
The inaugural World Butcher’s competition started in 2011 as a Trans-Tasman Test Match between New Zealand and Australia. Since then, the World Butchers’ Challenge has grown, expanding its scope in 2022 to include 16 qualifying international teams competing for the “world’s best” title. Because it is such an intense competition, requiring years of individual training and team practices, it is often referred to as the “Olympics of Meat”. For more information about the competition visit https://www.worldbutcherschallenge.com.
F.DICK Knives: A Proud Sponsor of Butchery Team Canada
F. DICK knives, distributed by CookUP Canada, is a proud sponsor of Butchery Team Canada and provides sponsorship, marketing and fundraising support for the Team. In addition, Chef Carmelo Vadacchino, Corporate Chef for CookUP, is an active team supporter of Butchery Team Canada, serving as a culinary mentor, attending and guiding all team meetings and training sessions.
“The World Butchers’ Challenge seeks to change perceptions and elevate butchery as a skilled trade,” says Chef Vadacchino. “Through this competition, a global community has been cemented with life-long friendships formed, business opportunities unlocked and the overall butchery trade benefiting from an injection of creativity and innovation.