Young butchers set to carve up the competition

Media Advisory

Thursday 30 August 2007

Young butchers set to carve up the competition

Eight young butchers have cut and carved their way through four regional competitions to advance to the 2007 Young Butcher of the Year Finals being held in Auckland on Monday 3 September and Tuesday 4 September. .

Matthew Gregory The Mad Butcher, Mangere Auckland
Damian Walden Pak N Save, Henderson Auckland
Josh Marriott The Original Aussie Butcher Auckland
Scott Reid New World, Gate Pa Waikato
Matthew Brown The Mad Butcher, Lower Hutt Wellington
Cees Groot New World, Pioneer Wellington
Steven Joseph New World, Halswell Christchurch
Ronald Hudson New World, Alexandra Otago

All of these contestants are now in the running to be named New Zealand’s 2007 Young Butcher of the Year.

“Every year the standards in the competition rises, so to advance on to the Finals is great recognition of their hard work and broad range of butchery skills,” says Retail Meat ITO General Manager, Stephen Macaulay.

The accomplished young butchers were put through their paces on a range of tasks, including theory examinations, direct interviews, cutting & display tests and a short speech at the Awards Dinner to be held at Sky City.

A highlight of the competition is the cutting & display tests being held during the New Zealand Culinary Fare Competition at the Auckland Showground’s on Tuesday morning at 11.00am. Competitors will be cutting and slicing their way through four cuts of meat into retail ready portions over 90 minutes

“The Final will be a great event. This award is well recognised in the industry with many previous winners having gone on to forge excellent careers in the retail meat sector and beyond,” Mr Macaulay says.

The winners of the national final will be announced at a black-tie dinner celebration in front of 300 people at Sky City, Auckland on Tuesday evening.

ENDS

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