A group of young Kiwis are preparing to battle it out in one of the country's oldest trades when they come head to head for a national butchery competition on Thursday night.
The event will see 10 participants take their knives to a range of meats at Shed 10 on Auckland's waterfront to determine New Zealand's top young butcher.
Each participant is expected to prepare a chicken, a beef sirloin and a pork shoulder for the judges, transforming them into "a display of value-added products".
And it's not just cutting meat - the participants will also spend their evening sitting a written exam, being interviewed and performing on stage in their quest for butchery supremacy.
The winners of the two categories - the Young Butcher and Butcher Apprentice of the Year - will be handed an international study tour for their efforts.
Matt Grimes, the competition's head judge, says opportunities may present themselves to the competitors due to their involvement in the national final.
"Tonight Shed 10 will be full of the top guys in the industry who are seriously looking at what these butchers bring to the table - and it's not just limited to those who win the overall prize," he said.
"At the end of the day, our 10 finalists are the best in the country and I can guarantee managers and owners will be looking at how they conduct themselves and what they present.
"Past finalists of this competition have gone on to do great things."
The competition comes at a crucial moment, with a number of new butchers needed to fill empty roles.
"We need more butchers. Competenz, as an industry training organisation, forecast 600 new qualified butchers needed in the New Zealand economy by 2020. This is to fulfill new job openings and butchers leaving the sector," says Jim Macbride-Stewart, general manager of traineeships at Competenz.
"In both 2014 and 2015 there were 100 new butchers completing their butcher apprenticeship - 74 in 2013. This increase reflects the engagement from independent butchers and supermarkets who train the young apprentices supported by Competenz."
He says that young people who work in the industry find butchery an enjoyable job.
"Butchery is popular among young people who have had a chance to experience the role. The young people who take up a butchery apprenticeship through Competenz are always happy that they chose it as their career. Many butchery apprentices go on to have long and rewarding careers in the sector - often owning their own butchery," he says.
Industry experts will be hoping Thursday night's competition will inspire the next generation of young butchers.
"There are currently over 380 apprentices training to become a butcher with around 30 percent of these graduating each year," Mr Macbride-Stewart says.
"Despite initial perception of the industry, people who gain experience in butchery are passionate about what they do, which is feeding New Zealanders."
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