NCBA’s executive chef on the renaissance of the butcher

NCBA executive chef Dave Zino showcases a new product and a mobile app at the Annual Meat Conference. He also discusses the comeback of the butcher.

Sam Gazdziak:We are here with Dave Zino, executive chef of the NCBA. Can you tell me about the delicious looking products you have here?

Dave Zino:We’ve got a beef tenderloin that we are making little mini-baguette sandwiches with your choice of Béarnaiseand a horseradish sour cream sauce. My role as executive chef is to work with retailers helping them understand the new cuts that are out there, different ways to package them to get the most bang for your buck. We have a great mobile app called Interactive Butcher Cuts, which allows people to click on a few various cuts, gives recipes, and alternate cuts. It will be an exciting conference for us.

Gazdziak:One thing I have been seeing is at one point in time, people were trying to phase out the butcher at the grocery store because it was an extra cost and they were looking to cut costs. Do you think now with people having more interest in meat that the butcher is making a comeback?

Zino:I think it is, especially in Brooklyn, N.Y. there is this whole renaissance of the butcher. The butcher is becoming a rock star now. The chef was the rock star for a while, and now we’re kind of mainstream. Chef’s will always be rock stars. There’s a lot of interest cutting meat, fabricating it differently, new cuts. The renaissance of the butcher is coming back.

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The Meat Industry Hall of Fame was created in 2009 to enshrine the leaders and legends whose visions, skills, and dedication have shaped and sustained the meat and poultry industries.

This new annual reception will celebrate the Meat Industry Hall of Fame Class of 2023 inductees in person during the AAMP American Convention of Meat Processors & Suppliers’ Exhibition in Omaha, Nebraska.