Sharp Blacks head to Olympics of butchery

Reuben Sharples knows his meat.

The Auckland-based butcher said he struggled at school but when he began an apprenticeship up north in Waipu a couple of decades ago, he realised he'd found his calling.

Since then he's done stints in London and started up his own popular business.

Now the aptly-named Sharples is a member of the Sharp Blacks team, which will be competing in the World Butcher's Challenge in the US this September.

He told First Up what was involved.

"We'll have a side of beef, a side of pork, a whole lamb and five chickens."

"The thing with American meat compared to our meat is that with our sort of pigs, a side of pork would be about 35 kilos. We're expecting 45 to 50 kilos for theirs, and the beef also is going to be probably around 80 kilos bigger than what we expect. Even the sheep are bigger."

"Everything is bigger, and apparently better, in America." laughed Sharples.

If you think the Sharp Blacks are heading to Sacramento for a holiday, think again.

"We're not just there to cut up rump steak. This is next level."

The team is made up of seven butchers, including Pukekohe's James Smith, Kaitaia's Luka Young, Glen Innes' Cherise Redden, Mangawhai's Dan Klink and Riki Kerekere and Corey White from Ōtāhuhu.

The squad works together to fillet, mince, or make sausages from high-end cuts of meat, as Sharples explained.

"We've got Riki who's the captain. The products go across his table to make sure they're all good. Right at the start it's myself and Dan Klink, who will be doing the boning and breaking, and we sort of prepare everything to give it to the product developers."

"And then you've got Luka, Cherise and Corey, who sort the product."

"Cherise is mainly on the chicken to start with and then she gets on to display, she's got a real eye for detail. She'll sort of be placing everything, making sure the tickets are straightened etc."

The biggest mission is to use all of the product Sharples said.

"After three hours and 15 minutes when they yell out knives down, we've got to make sure everything is done, if you've got five kilos of leftover mince trim or some kind of trim, you're gonna get heavily penalised."

Beef and Lamb New Zealand's Lauren Shamy who is a spokesperson for the event said the competition started thanks to a classic interaction over a bottle of whiskey.

"Essentially, our chairman Rod Slater was having a drink with an Aussie colleague. As the old trans-Tasman rivalry goes, they were doing a bit of Aussie is better than Kiwis banter, and they decided to create a team each and go head-to-head.

"So the Trans-Tasman Challenge was born and that happened in Christchurch, then the UK wanted a piece of the action and so in 2013 it became a Tri-Nations competition.

"As the years have progressed everyone wants a piece of the action."

This year's event includes teams from America, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Iceland, Italy, Ireland, Portugal, Wales and of course Australia.

Sharples who owns the Aussie Butcher in New Lynn, found himself in the headlines last year when he volunteered at his local supermarket while unable to open his business due to Covid-19 restrictions.

"We weren't able to open on Level 4. I've got a good friend Jamie Brear down at my local Green Bay New World. I went down there and sort of helped him out because he was short-staffed.

"That's the whole thing about Butchers, we're just sort of humble and we want to help one another. I didn't want to see someone struggling in my community."

The Sharp Blacks have some secrets they'll be employing at the WBC, but they prefer to let their butchering do the talking Sharples said.

"We've definitely got a few things up our sleeves that are top secret. I just like to keep it true and sort of traditional, that's what the Kiwi pallet is."

The World Butcher's Challenge will take place on 3 September in Sacramento.