The First Cut is the Deepest

There was a time when the local butcher held an important role in the community. Trust, integrity, honesty and a damn good laugh were always available at the butcher shop. That time looked like it had become a thing of the past, a memory of yesteryear swallowed up by fast lifestyles and a throwaway society that has made us forget how we once chose our food. I’m lucky enough to have spent the better part of my life in and around commercial kitchens, bars and cafés and I know the power of the foundations that yesterday’s butchers were built upon. There’s a change happening though. Today’s customer is insisting on quality, tradition, provenance and humane practices – from the farmer through to the butcher. This is encouraging, motivating and best of all, the new norm.

– Darren O’Rourke, Head Butcher, Victor Churchill, Australia