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A Mangawhai butcher is on his way to California in September after being selected as one of the New Zealand team competing in this year’s World Butchers’ Challenge.
Dan Klink, who runs Mangawhai Meat Shop, will be boning and trimming for the six-strong Hellers Sharp Blacks when they compete against 15 other countries in Sacramento on September 3.
Each national team will be given a side of beef, a side of pork, a whole lamb and five chickens, which they then have to transform into a display of dozens of value-added products. They can provide their own seasonings, spices, marinades and garnishes to come up with meat treats that inspire and push boundaries, while keeping them “cookable and sellable”.
“There are around 90 different products we have to come up with,” Dan says. “So at the moment we’re nutting those out and making sure they work, and then we’ll get into the practical side and do full practice runs.”
Dan is no stranger to competitive butchery, having won several major awards in the past including Auckland Regional Young Butcher of the Year and winner of NZ’s Supreme Sausage Award in 2016. He says he feels incredibly lucky to be selected for the Sharp Blacks biennial challenge team, which has taken out the title three times since the first competition was held in 2011.
Prior to the contest itself, the team will have to hit the streets of Sacramento to source fruit, veggies and other ingredients that can’t be taken on the plane. They will also be supporting NZ contenders in two other events the day before theirs, the World Champion Butcher Apprentice and World Champion Young Butcher.
