Butchery is an art that takes a great deal of training – and a great amount of skill. Scott Buzza, retail butcher at The Brian Etherington Meat Company, explains…
“I joined Etherington’s nearly three years ago as a Butchery Apprentice. The training appealed to me because butchery is still a proper old-fashioned trade; it’s highly skilled, hands-on work, with very little modern machinery. It’s also still a well-regarded skill, and one that will give me a job for life.
My training included an intensive day in the butchery every week, when we would break down a whole carcass – learning about joints and sinews, and how to get the most out of every part of an animal.
The other side of the apprenticeship training programme is all about giving great customer service at the butchery counter. I enjoy working in front of visitors here at Etherington’s Farm Shop, guiding them and making sure they get exactly what they want. We have a great relationship with all our customers, especially regulars, which is very rewarding.
The other aspect I enjoy is creating new products for the butchery counter. I recently came up with ‘Baconberg’ – a delicious Pork Battenberg with sausage meat. Our customers love this!
I plan to work my way up through the ranks here at Etherington’s and get as much experience as possible. It’s a big operation, so there is plenty of scope for career development.”