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Munchies

Why Women Make Better Butchers Than Men

On International Women's Day, one of London’s top female butchers tells us why the male-dominated industry could do with more women.

People always think the reason I got into butchery is going to be because of a family connection or that I was really into the craft, but it was actually a happy accident. I'm originally from Chesterfield in North Derbyshire and when I was 16, I got a Saturday job in a farm shop and they put me on the butchery counter.

When I moved to London three years later, I needed another Saturday job and with the experience I had, I started working at The Ginger Pig butcher. I was there for three years and moved around the shop, learning more about butchery and working in the office as a PR assistant. Then I moved to Turner & George as marketing manager and cut meat on the weekends. So, it's still my Saturday job!

For me, seeing how the animal goes from field to fork is what's interesting. There are so many people who shop in the supermarket nowadays who don't see the whole process that the meat has gone through. I'm really interested in how what a pig or a cow or a sheep eats affects the taste of the meat.

I also think that butchery is an art form. You take a whole carcass and you can break it down into these cuts that look so lovely and don't resemble anything like a whole body.

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