Meatstock Toowoomba: Highfields Gourmet Meats apprentice, owner wins Butcher Shop Wars competition

Jamie Buckley has won his first butchery competition, just five months after starting the trade. Here’s how he and his boss took out a major prize at Meatstock.

Jamie Buckley only put on his first butcher’s apron in December, and he’s already won competitions for his work.

The apprentice butcher at Highfields Gourmet Meats helped his boss Christian Nicholls to first place in Meatstock’s Butcher Shop Wars competition.

The pair were each tasked with de-boning a chicken, evenly tying off 6kg of sausages and rolling 100g rissoles within 10 minutes and their results beat eight other butcheries across Queensland to claim the prize.

Christian Nicholls (left) and Jamie Buckley from Highfields Gourmet Meats competed at Meatstock. Tuesday, April 18, 2023. Picture: Nev Madsen.

Even more incredibly, the 20-year-old said he’d only learned how to de-bone a chicken the day before the event.

“I was very nervous and it surprised me that we came first,” Mr Buckley said.

Mr Nicholls said Mr Buckley’s first few months as a butcher had been impressive, believing he had a bright future in the trade.

“He did do well, he’s very good in the shop,” he said.

Mr Buckley said anyone wanting to become a butcher should be persistent and determined.

“There’s a lot of determination (required), because you’re going to mess up a lot of things,” he said.

“A lot of it is learning consistency and trying to keep your product the same.

“The sausages the first time I made them were out of whack, some were too big or too small, but over time I got them more even.

“Butchering is a great qualification to get into.”