Greg Egerton has been named New Zealand’s best butcher, after beating out more than 44 of New Zealand’s top butchers. The grand final of the Alto Butcher of the Year was held after regional competitions showcased the skill across New Zealand’s butchery industry. Regional competitors had to show judges their knife abilities in a two-hour test of skill, while the Alto Butcher competitors were put to the test with mystery cuts and a range of meats to work with. The contestants were given an 11-rib forequarter of lamb, a pork shoulder, a duck and a wild rabbit only five minutes before the competition. Egerton displayed a classy performance, deboning the entire rabbit and putting the backstraps on skewers, and wrapping the whole thing in pancetta.
Egerton has been a butcher for 26 years, working across a range of places including the freezing works, with George Mills butchery in South Dunedin, as well as the Mad Butcher in Dunedin.
