Butchery manager at Ludlow Food Centre in Ludlow, John Brereton, and Matthew Parkes, assistant manager for Walter Smith Fine Foods in Willenhall, triumphed in the England heats for the Butchery WorldSkills UK National Competition.
[gallery type="slideshow" ids="https://d34wkqkcvmkqx1.cloudfront.net/CMS/s3/ymg-library/web/images/2015/07/Matthew-Parkes.jpg|Matthew Parkes receives his certificate from Viv Harvey watched by fellow judges Roger Kelsey (left) and Keith Fisher (right).,https://d34wkqkcvmkqx1.cloudfront.net/CMS/s3/ymg-library/web/images/2015/07/Matthew-Parkes-display.jpg|Matthew Parkes with his winning meat display.,https://d34wkqkcvmkqx1.cloudfront.net/CMS/s3/ymg-library/web/images/2015/07/John-Brereton.jpg|John Brereton receives his certificate from Viv Harvey watched by fellow judges Roger Kelsey (left) and Keith Fisher (right).,https://d34wkqkcvmkqx1.cloudfront.net/CMS/s3/ymg-library/web/images/2015/07/John-Brereton-display.jpg|John Brereton with his winning meat display."]
The England heat was hosted by Leeds City College. All the butchers must now wait until next month to discover if they are one of the six top scoring butchers from the combined Wales, Northern Ireland and England heats to qualify for the final, which will be held at the NEC Birmingham in November.
Brereton said: “It’s not just about competing, the competition gets you to think outside the box and become more creative."
Parkes added: “It means a lot to me. My employer prides itself on producing award winning products and butchers and it was nice to see the others lads from the company doing well.”
The Skills Show is the nation’s largest skills and careers event and helps to shape the future of the next generation.
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.
