Sacre bleu! Kiwi butchers cut down
New Zealand’s top butchers have been cut down by newcomers France at the 2016 World Butchers’ Challenge on the Gold Coast.
New champions France broke the three-year winning streak of our national butchery team, the Pure South Sharp Blacks on Saturday.
The Sharp Blacks have long been the team to beat, according to chef Sean Connolly, one of the judges at this year’s Challenge.
‘‘All the other teams came out in full force determined to get one up on the New Zealand team,’’ he said.
Teams from Australia and the United Kingdom joined New Zealand and France to compete in the Challenge, which has been contested since 2011 when it was just a trans-tasman rivalry between Australia and New Zealand.
This year teams of six butchers from each country had three hours to turn a side of beef, a side of pork and a whole lamb into a display of value-added cuts.
The Sharp Blacks also produced a cookbook which displayed each of their 82 cuts in recipe form.
The team is managed by Hellers founder Todd Heller, who also travelled to Australia with them.
‘‘As a nation we should be really proud of this team,’’ Heller said.
‘‘Our butchers work hard day in and day out to produce topquality results.
‘‘Today that hard work and determination was showcased to the world.’’