A group of up-and-coming chefs from two top restaurants in Edinburgh had the opportunity to hone their skills recently during a Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) butchery demonstration.
Using Scotch Beef PGI and Scotch Lamb PGI, Master butcher Viv Harvey emphasised to the group, which was made up of chefs from The Pompadour by Galvin and The Honours, the importance of building a strong relationship between the chef and the butcher. This, he told the group, ensures the meat is prepared in the best possible way, the chef receives the most suitable cut for specific dishes and, ultimately, the client in the restaurant has a more memorable eating experience.
The young chefs were also shown techniques and skills to guarantee the consistency of the meat and also how to, in some circumstances, increase the potential of certain muscles traditionally perceived as lower value, slower cooking cuts.
The important role of the farmer was also explained and the participants were encouraged to make use of the traceability and available information on how the animal has been reared.
“Learning from such an experienced and well-respected butcher such as Viv has been a fantastic experience,” said Alex Stewart from The Pompadour by Galvin.
“I have certainly come away with a raft of new information and skills which will help me make the most of the meat we use in the restaurant.”
The butchery masterclass follows on from a range of recipes and videos featuring prominent Scottish chefs preparing Scotch Beef PGI and Scotch Lamb PGI dishes which were launched earlier this year and have now had over 4,000 and 100,000 hits respectively.
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
