Hopefuls from across Great Britain gathered together for a closely fought contest of skill, speed and innovation, culminating with innovative displays using creative cuts. The Great British Kitchen at the event, in March, played host to the contest and crowds flocked to see it unfold live throughout the day.
The expert judges kept a close eye on the contestants, looking particularly at their innovation and creativity, organisational skills, final displays and butchery skills. The standards shown by all were exceedingly high, leaving the judges with a tough job on their hands in deciding the final six.
So who made the final chop?
This year’s Team GB line up will be:
David Lishman – Captain/Non-cutter, Lishman’s Butchers, Ilkley.
Tom Wood – Breaker/ Boner , Huntleys Country Stores, Samlesbury.
Gary Raeburn – Prep /Finisher, Forbes Raeburn The Family Butcher, Huntly.
Andrew Ayris – Boner/Prep , Andrews Family Butchers, Marlborough.
Maurice Stephenson - Small goods/Sausage, Nigel Fredericks Ltd, London.
Chris Glaysher – Breaker/Finisher/Dresser, Glaysher Family Butchers, Basingstoke.
Danny Upson- Team Manager, Dalziel Ltd.
Faced with whittling down 20 top-class butchers into a team of six, team manager Danny Upson said: “I have been overwhelmed by the number of British butchers who entered and took part. They were all very eager to demonstrate their butchery skills and win a place in the Tri-Nations GB Butchers team. The judges and I looked for the best butchery skills, creativity and product knowledge, allowing us to select the very best butchers to join what we hope will be the winning team.”
The Tri-Nations Butchers Challenge is a three-way butchery competition between New Zealand, Australia and Great Britain, designed to promote the uptake of best practice retail butchering. The 2015 contest is being hosted by current champions New Zealand on September 10.