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Recipes, cooking lessons, tips, tricks, food blog, and more.
Recipes, cooking lessons, tips, tricks, food blog, and more.
Being a butcher requires more than a month's training
2 January 2010
I live in a fairly small city. Until about 6 months ago, I was going regularly to a local butcher. Only, he sold his shop. And the new guy just isn't cutting the mustard. In fact, he's not cutting the meat right at all! Rumours have it that the business is in trouble. I don't know, as I don't shop there anymore, but I have no problem believing it.
The rumours also say that the town is too conservative to have a Chinese couple for butchers. I hate to say this, but I must admit that many people in this town are racist. For me, however, the fact that the new butcher is Chinese has very little to do with the fact I'm not going there anymore. The real problem is that the Chinese butcher isn't actually a butcher. He purchased the shop from the butcher, got a month's training from the old owner, and that was it.
The quality of the meat has gone down. He may have switched providers, or purchasing lesser meat in an effort to cut costs. I don't know. But one of the reasons I was going there was because of the high quality of meat. He also doesn't know how to cut meat properly. That's to be expected - a month's training is nowhere near enough to learn the trade.
Because let's face it, being a butcher is a trade. It is a skill to learn. There are theories and techniques to know. That's why people go to school, or apprentice for two or three years. It takes time to learn your craft.
And so, I stopped going to the local butcher. Because he's not a butcher.
Fortunately, I found another store who has not only one, but three full fledged butchers! Unlike the supermarket with meats cut and prepackaged in a central location, these guys get chunks and cut on demand. They even age some cuts for discerning customers! Their off-the-shelf meats are aged 3 weeks. They'll age meat a further 2 weeks! Yummm. Yes, I'll pay more to get that kind of service.
It saddens me to see my old butcher shop be in trouble. I hate local businesses failing. But had the new owner actually been a butcher, it probably wouldn't have had such troubles.
There's something to be said about requiring qualifications to be able to work in a trade. Plumbers and electricians need to be qualified. Why don't butchers and cooks?
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The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese. Steven Wright
Nic,
In my suburban Detroit, Michigan town, we have a neighborhood butcher shop that does great business due to excellent meat and customer service. I have been going to them for many years. It has been a pleasure to have them close by when I needed something extra special. They also carry Dearborn smoked hams and sausages. Also, a new grocery store opened where a failed chain grocery store once operated. What a great bonus for our area. The entire store is run first rate, produce is fresh, meat is cut to order, fresh fish and has an excellent wine selection. They even carry New Zealand apples. What is so nice, is the owner will specifically order something for you if he doesn't have it on the shelf. He is responsive, friendly and committed to pleasing his customers. What a treat!
I hope your butcher situation stabilizes and are able to get the quality meats you need. Must be frustrating not being able to produce the outstanding cuisine you trained so hard to create.
Love the blog!
Comment by: Janet Hug - January 3rd, 2010 @ 15:30