Mangawhai butchers best on the block

Dan Klink, from Mangawhai Meat Shop, and his apprentice Dylan Thompson both made it to the top of the Upper North Island round in a national butchery competition.

Two butchers from the same Mangawhai shop proved they were the sharpest knives in the drawer when they won their categories in Upper North Island competitions.

Dan Klink, from Mangawhai Meat Shop, came first in the Alto Butcher of the Year Awards and Dylan Thompson, also from Mangawhai Meat Shop, tied in first place with Cherise Redden from Countdown Meat & Seafood for the ANZCO Foods Butcher Apprentice of the Year.

They were competing against butchers from across the upper North Island in this year's national competitions, at the first regional held in Auckland last weekend.

The competition is part of a four-region national series to find New Zealand's top butchers to compete in a Grand Final showdown in August.

Klink and Thompson had to break down a size 16 chicken, a boneless beef rump and a full pork loin into a display of value-added products.

Klink is a regular at the Alto Butcher of the Year competition and a previous winner of the Upper North Island title, in 2016.

"I'm absolutely ecstatic, I put a lot of time and effort into practising for it. I'm from a small, rural town so it means a lot to bring something back like this for the shop and the community.

''And for my apprentice Dylan to tie for first in the ANZCO Foods Butcher Apprentice competition is amazing. I think we might have to put a parade on for the shop."

Thompson was also competing for a second year, having reached the final last year.

"It's amazing to win as I have put in so much practice. I picked up from what I did last year and built on that, incorporating other ideas and practised every day after work, which has obviously really paid off and now I cannot wait for the final."

Along with Redden, who tied with Thompson, the Mangawhai butchers will continue on to the Grand Final on August 8 in Auckland where they will showcase their cutting skills, creativity and knowledge of the trade against the best in the country.

Head judge and captain of New Zealand's butchery team, the Hellers Sharp Blacks, Corey Winder has been involved in the competition for 20 years and said the standard of butchery was exceptionally high.