The ‘Ontario’s Finest Butcher’ Title Celebrating one of the world’s oldest trades, with a keen eye to the future.
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By Stacey Newman
uring the fall—the traditional season for the harvest and Thanksgiving—the rounds of the Ontario’s Finest Butcher Competition (OFBC) were held. On September 30th, four Ontario butchers battled it out in the finale of this much-anticipated annual competition by Meat & Poultry Ontario (MPO). There can only be one top winner, though every meat aficionado on the stage is a celebrated champion in the craft of butchery. The 2021 finalists put on an honourable display of talent and proficiency for the audience while vying for bragging rights and the top prize.
Butchery is an ancient occupation that roughly dates back to the first domestication and processing of livestock in Medieval Europe. The first known use of the term butcher dates to the thirteenth century. Butchery is also a modern occupation that has evolved across centuries and regions of the world. It is a diverse and infinitely creative trade, with meat processing forming one of the most important, and understaffed, labour segments in Ontario and Canada.
“A butcher is a person who may slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks.” – Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary
In the end, it was Paul Gentile of Metro, Toronto who emerged victorious, bringing home the “black jacket.” Gentile fought his way through 16 of Ontario’s top butchers. His Metro colleagues, many of whom were in attendance, were noticeably proud.
“The skills demonstrated today are just a sample of the talented butchers that work tirelessly to put local food on the plates of Ontarians every day,” says Franco Naccarato, MPO’s executive director. MPO launched its Finest Butcher Competition in 2014 with purpose— to inform and educate; and celebrate the past, present and future of meat processors in the province. Year after year—and through a global pandemic—the competition has continued to grow and draw interest from established meat professionals and up-and-comers alike.
Paul Gentile
“On behalf of the entire Metro Ontario team, I would like to congratulate Paul on his incredible knife skills, and winning the prestigious title of Ontario’s Finest Butcher,” says Joe Fusco, senior vice president of Metro Ontario.
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BlockTalk - Winter 2021
Troy Spicer is the program coordinator of the Professional Butchery Techniques certificate program at Fanshawe College, and one of the judges of the 2021 OFBC. Spicer is a self-described “educator of most things food-related.” But we might refer to him as a real “meat geek.” Spicer grew up in the foodservice industry—his family ran a resale bakery for 67 years. He moved into institutional foodservice for a long-term care facility in his twenties and at the time the
www.meatpoultryon.ca
