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A cut above the rest
The Meat Safe is the kind of butchers where you’ll find friendly service and an eagerness to deliver above and beyond, whether you’re after a string of sausages or a fore rib of beef. WORDS | Gail Williams IMAGES | Matt Jelonek
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mar Chaudhary is full bottle on the dietary habits of Subiaco luminaries such as Janet Holmes à Court, Adam Gilchrist and Eric Mckenzie. The high profile names are among his 1,500 weekly customers who regularly exchange banter with him in the suburb’s last remaining independent butcher shop, The Meat Safe. Amar is the affable manager of a charming red T-shirted team who strut their stuff in the prime – no pun intended – Crossways’ location at the entrance to Farmer Jacks where for the past 17 years there has been a roaring trade in sirloins, aged rib eye 12
SUBIACO: EAT DRINK SHOP
and osso bucco. The blokes, and one young woman, Kabita, holding court with a constant throng of regulars.. Stories are swapped, cooking tips offered and sometimes – for the special customers – Amar throws in a complementary goat curry he has whipped up himself. The team put in punishing 12-hour days but that does little to dim the friendly smiles, offers of stickers and lollies to the kids or a comforting chat with a lonely elderly widow – all side serves to the handmade sausages, marinated lamb shanks, grass-fed beef and Lilydale chickens.
Amar says the reason for the outlet’s popularity is not just the outstanding meat. “I learned early on that you need to know your customers’ names,” he says. “Our team make it our business to use them and ask about their families. And it’s a genuine concern. We really care. You can tell if someone is having a bad day but they do appreciate the interest we show for what is going on in their lives.” It’s a skill he learned in his early 20s when he was a flight chef with Emirates, serving lobster thermidor to his VIP passengers. He had taken the chef’s posting to
