butchery interview help!

March 7, 2012 7:10 AM

how to ace a butchery apprenticeship interview?

through what can only be luck and some persuasive cover letter writing, i've scored an interview for an apprenticeship with a leading butcher in my Big City. i'm so excited that i'm beside myself. this is a HUGE about-face career change for me. i'm a 30 year old woman, have no professional butchery experience, nor any chef experience.

what i DO have is an intense passion for food. i read and memorize things like "the whole beast butchery" for fun. i'm a quick study, really coachable, and a hard worker. i'm going to be up against people with formal training, who i imagine have the same attributes.

SO. on friday, i have an interview. i've been told to bring clothes to work in, and that we're going to spend an hour "getting our hands dirty."

ANY insight at all into what possible things we could be doing would be helpful. i'm going to spend the next 48 hours watching butchery youtube videos, reading my face off, and scouring the vast plains of the internet for clues about what this might entail. with no experience, i haven't had a large volume of meat to work with in the past -- only the things i've bought and prepared for meals (where most of the work was already done for me, really).

IN SHORT: what happens at a hands-on, hour-long butchery apprentice interview? what do i wear? how can i make myself stand out, even with a lack of formal experience/training?

are you a butcher? an apprentice? what were your experiences like?

posted by anonymous to Work & Money (12 answers total)

I am not a butcher or a cook, but I think this is awesome. If I was up for this, I would buy a chicken or two and practice breaking them down or even just practice splitting chicken quarters- getting a feel for how to handle the joint and cutting cleanly through flesh. (after watching the rediculous youtube videos out there of course). Getting a feel for handling raw meat is probably the most useful thing you can do, and if you can break down a chicken efficiently, that might give you a confidence boost which would definitely influence your attitude at the interview.

As to clothes, the I've seen the local butcher wears the equivalent of scrubs with a massive apron- easy to launder and mostly covered by the apron. I assume they'll give you an apron, but generally wear stuff that will be easy to clean. (Probably jeans and a t-shirt). Definitely wear closed-toe shoes, probably not sneakers (too many crevices for blood/guts to creep into and you do not want rotting meat shoes).

Also, this is a really neat opportunity and I hope it goes well for you!
posted by larthegreat at 7:21 AM on March 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

As well as the obvious butchery-things, you might do well to brush up on your knowledge of whatever hygiene and food-handling regulations apply where you live.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 7:23 AM on March 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Perhaps not a useful suggestion on short notice, but the woman who wrote the Julie & Julia blog/book later wrote a book about taking on an butchery apprenticeship*.

*Caveat that I haven't read the book so I can't speak to its quality and I probably should raise that the book also covers her newly found fame and an affair she had post Julie & Julia publication. I could see where this would be a turn off for some.
posted by mmascolino at 7:32 AM on March 7, 2012

You can definitely stand out by emphasizing the things that--passion for butchery being equal--signal that you will be the easiest, lowest-maintenance 'employee' and coworker. They want someone who is punctual, reliable, 100% comfortable knowing they'll be starting with small/messy/uninspiring/repetitive/grunt work, an active listener, anally compliant with following rules and instructions, and quietly pleasant to be around.

Break a legbone!
posted by argonauta at 7:37 AM on March 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

IANAButcher, but I'd bet that some skill in sharpening knives, and a little experience using a band saw would help. Commitment to safety has got to be a top priority in a job like this.
posted by jon1270 at 7:45 AM on March 7, 2012

argonauta gives good advice. My wife is in an unusual profession, one that attracts more than its share of flakes, as does the restuarant business. Her #1 job skill, the one that she emphasizes on her website, when speaking with clients, when selecting office furnishings, is that she's not a flake.
posted by MrMoonPie at 7:49 AM on March 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Red apron, white button-up shirt and blue jeans were my "uniform" when I worked for my uncle in a meat locker in high school, same when I worked as assistant butcher at a mom and pop grocery store in college. Wear comfortable shoes you don't mind spilling blood on.

If you make a career out of this, regardless the safety precautions that are taken and how mindful you are, you will accidentally cut yourself at some point. This should happen rarely, but do expect to have stitches in your fingers/hands at some point.

Your hands will get cold handling meat all day, and it's also cold going back into the freezer to pull out boxes of meat to grind into chuck or searching for that box of chicken leg quarters you'll have to cut up. Your hands and forearms will be sore, in part from the weight of moderately heavy, slippery, floppy things you're handling day in and day out, in part from the repetitive motions you'll be making. (They'll get stronger.) Your hands, regardless how often you wipe and/or wash them as you work, will feel weird at the end of your shift and the first thing you'll want to do is wash them several times in piping hot water and plenty of soap.

Your back and shoulders will be sore from standing up and making cuts, hoisting tubs/boxes of meat, reaching over a counter to hand packages to customers, etc.

Since you're in a Big City you most likely won't have to deal with walking in on deer carcasses in the freezer (my boss let a couple of his friends store deer in the freezer until they could get them to a proper meat locker for processing)

You'll get people coming in and asking for obscure cuts, or to grind up a ribeye for their dog (yes, I had a customer ask for this several times). You'll get other people coming in and asking for exactly, after tax, $.84 of ground chuck or a single drumstick. If your meat department is attached to (and you're required to help in) the deli, you may have to make the ham salad; if so, this will likely lead to you swear off ham salad for good.

I guess I made this sort of work sound shitty, but it's not. It's good work, but it's physically demanding. Show them that you're reliable, careful/constantly mindful of what you're doing and not remotely fussy about getting dirty/bloody and you'll do fine. Good luck.
posted by cog_nate at 7:59 AM on March 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

I know a butcher at Whole Foods, and you should check his blog, Austin Texas Butcher.

Here is what I know about his job: its backbreaking and dangerous. He has cut himself bad more than once. You need to be able to work efficiently but I imagine for starters its more important to learn the safety rules and not injure yourself. Are you prepared for the intense physical aspect?
posted by slow graffiti at 8:04 AM on March 7, 2012

All I know about butchery I learned working in a grocery store in high school, and the sum of that knowledge is: you need non-skid shoes (butchery floors are slimy and disgusting) and some kind of a butcher's coat. The guys I worked with all wore jeans and t-shirts under their butcher's coats. And the rooms where you'll work are likely to be freezing cold, so you might want to layer up. Good luck!
posted by jabes at 8:19 AM on March 7, 2012

I'd say you need to stress that you're not squeamish. It's one thing to read about pulling out lungs and another to do it.
Also,being good at visualizing spatial relationships (like a surgeon does) is also important, because you could be cutting something that you can only feel, not really see completely.

Here in LA, Lindy and Grundy are the go-to-girls for great meat.

Look clean and neat. Emphasis on clean. Hair in control, etc. No rings.
posted by Ideefixe at 8:31 AM on March 7, 2012

(oops, forgot the link: Austin Texas Butcher)
posted by slow graffiti at 9:23 AM on March 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

I was never a butcher, but I spent a lot of years as a chef, and I interviewed my fair share of people for kitchen jobs. Here is what I'd suggest:

Clean, dark work pants, not jeans. Dark colored closed toe shoes with non-skid soles. I usually wore steel toed sneakers, and those might be something to consider if you get the job. Clean shirt, maybe a button up style shirt, but keep it plain.

Since you're a woman, I'd suggest no nail polish, no fake nails, no rings, no earrings. No dangly jewelry at all. Very little perfume, simple make up. You want to look like someone who is going to come to work ready to work, instead of spending time fiddling with your appearance all day. If you have long hair, have it up and out of the way. All of that may seem obvious, but I had more than one woman show up for an interview where they knew they'd be doing some cooking in heels and a nice skirt. And to be fair, I had a few guys show up in suits for the same type of interview.

One thing to keep in mind is that the person you're going to interview with should hopefully be aware that you have no experience at all. The fact that they're willing to interview you means that they're willing to take a chance on someone who is willing to learn, instead of someone who will want to do things their own way, or have a mountain of bad habits already ingrained. I'd be more concerned about showing my willingness to learn, instead of trying to dazzle them with knowledge they know you don't really have. I'm sure they expect some familiarity with the trade and what it entails, but if they wanted someone who was already an expert, they wouldn't be talking to you.

Good luck to you. The thing I miss the most about working in the kitchen is the feeling of accomplishment I had at the end of every day, where I knew I had made people happy. You don't really get that in IT.
posted by ralan at 10:16 AM on March 7, 2012 [1 favorite]