National Butchers’ Challenge presented by Crown National

Meet Team 6 Pack, the winning team in the National Butcher’s Challenge presented by Crown National. The winning team members will form part of the squad training for ‘Team South Africa’ working towards representing the country at the World Butcher’s Challenge in Ireland next year.

Team 6 Pack was the winning team in the National
Butcher’s Challenge presented by Crown National.

Giving South African butchers a major push onto the international stage is the National Butchers’ Challenge presented by Crown National. The contest, which ran throughout The Fire & Feast Butcher’s Festival, saw 10 teams consisting of six members each, competing in a three-hour time slot where they were required to prepare and present cuts of beef, lamb and pork. The six members will be assigned specific tasks with no overlap and assistance allowed. Their overall performance will be assessed by a panel of judges with representatives from the South African Chefs Association and South African Meat Industry Council scrutinising several aspects such as hygiene, knife skills, marketability of the cuts, presentation and the uniqueness of the product formulation. The best butchers of this challenge – organised by leading South African butcher, Caroline McCann and renowned chef, Arnold Tanzer – go on to represent South African at the World Butcher’s Challenge taking place in Belfast, Ireland in 2018.

“The National Butchers’ Challenge, presented by Crown National, attracted an incredibly talented group of participants which made for exciting viewing and challenging judging,” said Caroline McCann, a leading South African butcher and organiser of the challenge. “Visitors were overwhelmed by the calibre of food produced, particularly within such strict time constraints, and it was really great to see the immense culinary quality within the country.”

Vying for the top prize were 10 teams consisting of six dedicated members who worked furiously during the allocated three-hour time slot, preparing and presenting succulent cuts of beef, lamb and pork. After careful analysis of elements such as hygiene, knife skills, marketability of the cuts, presentation and the uniqueness of the product formulation, the winning team was announced as Team 6 Pack with representatives from Old Town uMhlanga, Spar, Makro and Checkers. Team 6 Pack consisted of Andre van der Merwe, Johan Pretorius, Pedro Gonsalves Sequeira, Sebastian Munyewende, Leo Roland Delaney and Werner Viljoen.