Old fashioned values, new ideas: Why butcher is a cut above
As he continues to make a mark on the foodie scene, this local butcher tells why combining an old-fashioned foundation with a willingness to adapt to changing times is the secret to his success.
Fraser Coast
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He’d long been known for his award-winning hams but in recent times, this Hervey Bay butcher has been making even more of a mark on the foodie scene.
Along with supplying goods to some of the best restaurants like Odyssey Bistro, Dale Newberry of Kawungan Quality Meats is keeping up with the trends and introducing “firsts” into the region including the importation of A5 Japanese Wagyu beef out of Japan.
Kawungan Quality Meats at Shop 6, 1 Doolong Road, has always been family-owned and Dale, a fifth-generation butcher, officially bought out his parents a year ago.
He combined 26 years of experience with a willingness to adapt to the times.
“I was taught by the old fellow, who said: ‘Mate, if you build a solid foundation (for your business) – same as a house – your house will stay for a long time … Otherwise … it'll fall over’,” Dale told the Chronicle.
“If you‘ve got a solid foundation, you’ll continue to grow.”
Dale’s business has gained a strong social media following, thanks to cooking demos, recipes and other ideas as he realises “just being a traditional butcher shop” doesn’t cut it anymore.
“People's tastes have changed, partly, cooking shows have done that … (businesses have) all trained customers … they know how to cook now, they understand flavours and stuff, so we have to adapt,” he said.
“The days of going into a butcher, and there's a beef and the pork sausage and that's it, are done … we have to stay on top of where the culinary world's going.”
Thinking outside the box doesn’t stop there for Dale who now also offers ready to heat side-dishes and microwavable meals at the store.
“For a long time butchers have been making stir fries and stuff for the time-poor but it‘s got worse, people are at work longer and want a decent meal, but they don’t have the time to cook,” Dale said.
Dale also realised how a lack of online presence negatively impacted his business, and changed it.
“We had a pretty good social media following and then I noticed we had no online presence whatsoever … if you Googled us, you would have got our opposition,” Dale said
“So, I got a website built … and built an online store, it was honestly just a bit of fun, we were happy if we got, like, two to four orders a week … And then, COVID hit.”
COVID buying raked in about 60 daily online orders, up from the company’s usual two, and the online store still sits at a comfortable 30 orders a day.
Kawungan Quality Meats has been regionally ranked first for their leg ham bone, second for their wood-smoked bacon, second for their kabana and, third for their cheese kransky by the Australian Meat Industry Council (AMIC).
It also took out third place for the best leg ham bone across the state.
Dale told the Chronicle he has no plans to slow down.
“We’ve got some big ideas happening behind the scenes which will rollout very, very soon,” he said.