Butcher, NSW
For Castle Hill butcher Michael Moore, the adage rings true: If you love what you do, you will succeed. Moore began his butcher's apprenticeship at Woolworths after finishing high school.
He was so passionate about his profession that he spent his spare time working at a small independent butcher's shop, High Quality Meat, to learn all he could.
"You broaden your horizons a bit by doing that,'' he says.
Shortly after completing his apprenticeship at Granville TAFE, Moore took a year off to travel the world. When he returned home, he decided to use the good marks he received during the apprenticeship to gain entry into university.
He spent four years studying a Bachelor of Education in primary school teaching, but after a year on the job, the lure of the butcher's life proved too strong to resist.
"My first love was butchery.
I really longed for it. I wanted to go back to it,'' he says.
Former boss Tony Bartorilla recognised his talent and convinced him to go back to High Quality Meat as part-owner.
"During the time that I was teaching I was always keeping in touch with Tony and going down and visiting. When Tony offered me a partnership it was the opportunity I was waiting for,'' Moore says.
Three years down the track, 30-year-old Moore is thriving.
"We have a huge sausage range that we continually win awards for. Last year we also won three bronze medals at the Royal Fine Foods show for our ham,'' he says.
Making gourmet sausages is one of Moore's interests, with a recent creation -- a honey sesame chicken sausage -- taking out top prize at the regional level of the Sausage King awards last October.
Moore doesn't consider his years at university as lost time.
"It's a fair statement that education is never wasted. The skills I learned in teaching are skills I use every day, from the way I train apprentices to the way I teach my other staff about presentation and preparation,'' he says.
The experience also helped cement his passion for being a butcher.
"The grass can appear greener on the other side of the fence, but I've been there and it isn't always the truth,'' he says.
He also believes the meat industry is growing, thanks to television chefs such as Jamie Oliver. He adds: "They're really bringing home the importance of the meat industry. You can get a real buzz out of it.
"In the past, I think there hasn't been a lot of pride in the industry. Now, people are really starting to take some pride in it.''
How to be ... a butcher
You will need to complete a Meat Processing (Meat Retailing) Certificate III (AQF) at TAFE while you are working at a butcher's shop. For information contact,
TAFE NSW, 131 601 or www.tafensw.edu.au
By Aimee Brown, The Daily Telegraph, April 1 2006.
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