SA awards its best butchers

SA’s best butchers were honoured at the annual Cleaver awards ceremony in Johannesburg recently. The awards were presented in three categories – “Three and fewer tills”, “Four and more tills” and “Food Markets”. W inners in each category received the Platinum Prize and R20 000 in cash, while runners-up received the Gold Prize and a R10 000 cash prize. T he awards form part of an ongoing “Beef Up on the Best” campaign, run by the SA Feedlot Association, which aims to educate, persuade and assure consumers of the hygiene, wholesomeness, affordability and nutritional value of SA beef. According to the campaign’s chairperson Arnold Pretorius, participation in the competition far exceeded expectations, with 5 975 nominations made nationwide. Finalists were evaluated by SA Meat Industry Council coordinators against a 212-point checklist based on hygiene, product quality, service and value for money. Award winners all achieved higher than 93% for this checklist. – Words and pictures: Gwenda van Zyl