Scheme aims to find top butchers

THE country’s best butchers are to be awarded Michelin star-style stamps under an initiative aimed at raising standards in the industry.

Butchers will be awarded certificates to become “certified craft members”, in a scheme endorsed by Bord Bia and the Food Safety Authority.

The move, to be unveiled by the Association of Craft Butchers of Ireland later this month, will see secret shoppers calling into the country’s 500 craft butchers.

Butchers will have to pass stringent tests on product preparation and display, traceability of the meat, store display, hygiene and customer service before they attain the certificates.

High-street butchers have been one of the most resilient sectors of the service industry, with many enjoying a bumper Christmas and trade in beef and lamb significantly up on last year.

But far from being complacent, industry chiefs want to cement the role and future of the butcher with new ideas they believe will entice more shoppers.

John Hickey, association chief executive, said he expected at least 200 members to pass the rigorous tests.

“The objective is to bring as many craft butchers up to the highest standard possible. This be similar to what it means to a restaurant to get a Michelin-star rating. Every member who applies will be audited and we will provide training and workshops to support them.

“The process will be very thorough and we will be arranging for an independent third party, or mystery shopper, to go into butcher shops and assess them.

“But our aim is to encourage members to raise their game.”

Butchers have been quick to respond to the changing demands of increasingly cash-strapped customers.

An initiative, spearheaded by chef Neven Maguire and backed by Teagasc, to re-educate butchers on how to prepare cheap, old-fashioned cuts such as oxtail, shin beef and shoulders of lamb, has paid dividends.

Mr Hickey even has plans further down the line to widen the butcher’s role as a local tourist agent.

“There are many villages and even towns in the country which don’t have a tourist office. The butcher, which is the last traditional community trader still going, is well-placed to fill that void.”