Butcher Girl Alison
Independent Butcher Consultant, Food Stylist, and Brand Ambassador
Heywood native Butcher Girl Alison has seen her butchery career take her from the fields of regional Victoria to not just all over Australia, but to all over the world including the US, the UK, and countless Asian stops along the way whilst all the time promoting women in the meat industry, and her other passions of quality Australian produce, and making the most of all cuts of beef.
Growing up the daughter of an Angus Beef farmer, Alison experienced the connection between cattle and butchery from a young age, being forcibly drawn into the family business at the weekend doing the jobs no one else wanted to do – clearing thistles, cleaning, and general dogsbody. But the trade-off was worth it for the night time BBQs, and calving season where Alison really found a passion for quality beef, and an understanding about what it takes to raise it.
A self-described foodie since before the word came about, Alison took this love of understanding food to university where she studied Food Styling, and was the first student to win a place on an elite exchange program in the US. “Food styling was something I loved doing and that old adage of ‘we eat with our eyes’ is so true! It was a very female orientated career, but it was an opportunity to refine my skills and explore which parts of the food industry I really wanted to focus on.”
After her time training in the US, Alison moved to London and worked in one of the oldest and prestigious butchers in the city. 170 year old Lidgate’s in the exclusive area of Holland Park counts chefs, restaurants and foodies as its customers, so the display and her skills had to be on point. Moving from stylist to on the job trainee butcher, Alison discovered that in London being Australian was as much of a selling point as being a female butcher.
‘’I had a few of the older clientele asking me if the butcher could do something for them, and I had to point out that they were already taking to the butcher! It raised a few eyebrows but people generally didn’t make a fuss when they found out, and the younger foodie customers thought Australians and BBQ go hand in hand so therefore I must know my way round the produce!”
On her return to Australia, Alison decided to officially take the leap into butchery and signed up to complete her butchery apprenticeship, which included the opportunity to work in a long established Melbourne butchery. Alison discovered the prestigious butchers in both London and Melbourne were refreshingly supportive women joining the industry.
“Back then, I found family businesses were a lot more helpful and encouraging of women in the industry than I might have expected, and I think that’s because there was this realisation from passing their trade down over the generations that you couldn’t always rely on the male relatives to want to do it, or be good at it, or even guarantee you had sons to pass it down to! To keep something going for that long in the family, you’ve got to get everyone involved, women included.”
Once qualified and with a few years in Australia under her belt, Alison worked in Shanghai for 6 years for an Australian meat brand, promoting it to the Chinese and Asian markets via suppliers,supermarkets and hotels. Dealing with the hospitality industry meant face to face training and experiences with not just the staff of Western brand hotels and smaller boutique properties, but the customers too.
“There was definitely always a ‘double take’ moment when some of the Chinese guests realised that the Caucasian foreign lady was the butcher! I don’t think they could believe that in someplaces it’s actually a career choice, especially for a woman. I had one or two comments from people there believing I couldn’t be the actual butcher, that I was a promotional girl hired and dressed up to look like one, or I had one older man try to give me advice that there were other careers out there for women, I didn’t need to be a butcher. I took it as coming from a caring place, he certainly wasn’t mean, he just couldn’t wrap his head around the concept that butchery is career, and it’s a career for women just as much as men.
On her return to Australia, the Butcher Girl Alison brand was created, and her consultancy work has taken her to S.E Asia, including Cambodia and Indonesia where she has worked as a brand ambassador for Australian beef, showing hotel staff how to cut, cook and prepare beef for their clients. Being an independent butcher consultant has given Alison time to focus on secondary cuts and nose to tail eating, and breaking down the barriers and perceptions of women butchers. “I was so lucky to have supportive mentors of my being a woman in butchery, that I really want take on the role myself and encourage females into the industry. To demystify what it is we do, and show the huge range of jobs available, and the amazing places they can take you.”
“Butchery is making a comeback, and women are at the forefront, right up there with our male colleagues and business owners. It’s taken me around the world, and given me my own business that I control. That’s all thanks to butchery!”