World records to be broken in Belfast butchery challenge

Skilled butchers from 14 nations will be in Belfast next year to take part in what is shaping up to be the biggest-ever World Butchers' Challenge.

Hosted by Butchery Excellence International (Ireland), which is based at Aughnacloy in county Tyrone, the World Butchers' Challenge has attracted more teams than ever before including Great Britain, the US, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, France and Germany.

This is the first-time in the competition's history that this important event has travelled to Ireland.

The World Butchers' Challenge will be taking place at IFEX 2018, the food and hospitality show, in the expanded Titanic Exhibition Centre, Belfast. It is expected to attract 250 butchers from around the globe with a delegation of up to 1,000 extra visitors.

The World Butchers' Challenge (WBC) was created as a platform where butchers from across the world could compete and showcase the butchery skills and creative uses of the beef, lamb and pork products from their respective countries. The champion title is currently held by France.

The bid to bring WBC was tabled by Rhonda Montgomery, chief executive and chef Sean Owens, managing director of Butchery Excellence Ireland. It is being supported by IFEX organisers Fresh Montgomery and government departments. IFEX is Northern Ireland's premier showcase of equipment, interiors and food & drink products.

Sean Owens says: "The challenge in Belfast is set to break all previous records and will showcase the outstanding quality of our grass-fed beef to the industry worldwide. We are organising an extensive research programme to farms and food processors across the island of Ireland. A strong Team Ireland has just been selected from butchery business in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. We're keen to bring the title to Ireland."

Taking place from 20th - 22nd March 2018, IFEX will grow its footprint, with an additional dedicated pavilion that will be home to the World Butchers' Challenge and will include a special arena for the event.

Butchery Excellence Ireland was developed to help butchers across the country keep on top of changes to legislation, food safety, food labelling, new product development, personal development, training and marketing.