New festival gives SA's butchers a chance to show off their knife skills

Flesh in all its forms is glorious. Bang it on the braai, chop it up finely and serve it raw with an egg yolk or diced apple, roast it, fry it or flip it on the grill - there's nothing that warms the heart of South Africans more than their favourite cut of meat.

This weekend the first Fire & Feast Butchers Festival takes place at Ticketpro Dome in Johannesburg and offers some prime-cut attractions.

"Visitors can expect to learn interesting ways to prepare meat with some of the country's best chefs on hand to demonstrate cooking techniques," says Paul Edmunds, sponsorship and content manager at Reed Exhibitions, organisers of the festival with Crown National.

One of the main attractions is the National Butchers' Challenge that sees 10 teams of six members each competing in a three-hour time slot where they will prepare and present cuts of beef, lamb and pork.

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The best butchers of this challenge, organised by local butcher Caroline McCann and renowned chef Arnold Tanzer, will represent South Africa at the World Butcher's Challenge in Belfast next year.

We asked McCann what to expect:

What's the national butchers' challenge all about?

It's the first time a competition is being held to find the best butchers in South Africa. It's all about the skill of the individual. Each team must break down and display for retail a whole side of beef, a whole pig and a whole lamb in three hours. Teams are penalised if they don't use all the meat.

What determines the marketability of a particular cut of meat?

Marketability starts with the visuals. Does it look well cut? Are there ingredients like veggies and spices that make it attractive and easier to cook? It's also about how the butcher can utilise a whole carcass with minimum waste and make all cuts from it look delicious.

What are they judged on?

Skills shown in deboning and preparing each cut, ability to use the entire carcass creatively, time management, communication as a team, product knowledge and hygiene.

Who are the leading lights on South Africa's butchery scene?

Micky Kerr at Hope Meat, Sebastian at Old Town and Ryan Boon in Cape Town.

I'm very biased about my own team and believe that Sydwell Tserenot not only cuts meat well but also loves teaching the students that are coming through our butchery outlets.

Popular trends in local butcheries?

Value-adding meat cuts and charcuterie. Butchers can play a lot more because of the availability of interesting ingredients. With more African immigrants arriving we're seeing African meats coming through like the Nigerian kilishi, which is strips of meat marinated in ground nuts, onions and spices.

How do our butchers rank on the world scale?

We have some of the best butchers in the world. They have a long tradition of cutting meat and many recall with fondness how they grew up hunting and then cutting carcasses with their relatives. Our area of weakness is not being inventive enough with forequarter cuts, which in Europe, for example, is seen as holding the best cuts.

Are some animals harder to butcher than others?

The most skill needed is when working with things like quail or rabbit, but the hardest is ostrich. It has no obvious muscle definition other than on its legs. The skill of a butcher is being able to ''read" the muscle lines so that primal muscles are deboned without damaging the surrounding muscles. It's not about strength, which is what most people assume.

Does South Africa have its own version of Salt Bae (the Turkish steak restaurateur who's become an internet sensation)?

We have funny and interesting characters in the butchery scene. I employed an old school butcher, Lorne Fouche, who's an opera singer. He'd break into opera at any moment in the butchery.

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ALSO ON AT THE FESTIVAL

THE SA FREE FLAME CHAMPIONSHIPS

A contest made up of four disciplines: potjie, braai, US-style barbeque and shisa nyama. Competitors - 170 of them - will participate at the weekend. Judges select a four-person team from the championship event to represent South Africa at the World BBQ Championships 2017 in Ireland.

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KITCHEN ZONE

Top South African chefs rotate throughout four kitchen zones demonstrating the preparation, cooking and presentation of traditional South African fare to more internationally nuanced dishes.

Lamb and Mutton: To bolster your iron intake treat yourself to lamb koftas, grilled livers, lamb kidneys, ribs, mutton loin and mutton rump prepared by chefs Citrum Khumalo and Stefano Strafella.

The Pork 360 Kitchen: Frikkadels [meatballs], pork fillets, pork roast, pork belly, shanks, pork rashers and Thai curry are some of the appetising dishes that will emanate from this kitchen with chefs Richard Rust, Sizwe Cebekhulu and Kabelo Segone bringing the heat.

The Beef Zone: Beef kebabs, citrus flank steak, rump, bone marrow, pulled beef and ox heart burgers are on the menu created by chefs Raynor Damons and Sasha Zambetti.

The Blue Ribbon Sandwich Square Theatre: Using cuts of lamb, beef and pork experts add creative spice to turn a snack into a feast.

THE CASTLE TANK

Ales, lagers, pilsners and draughts will quench your meaty thirst. There's also a bacon-serving Breakfast Zone and a Kid's Zone with jumping castles and crafts.

• The Fire & Feast Butcher's Festival runs from Friday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm. Tickets from TicketPro, R100 for adults, R80 for pensioners and students, kids under 12 free.

• This article was originally published in The Times.