High Peak schools learn all about butchery during National Butchers Week

Mettricks of Glossop is teaching the children of three different schools in the borough how to make some of their best-selling items amidst National Butchers Week.

National Butchers Week is a special time in the calendar for butchers up and down the country, as it gives them the prime opportunity to show off their best produce and educate the new generations on techniques that have earned them their reputations for years.

 Equally, this month is about the public being able to celebrate the artistry, dedication, and expertise of their local butchers and the yearly event ultimately reminds the public of the value of purchasing high-quality and ethically sourced meats and reminds the locals of the importance of their local butcher.

Mettricks of Glossop are one of the butchers that use the week to educate schools in the High Peak area about what they do. This is a tradition that John Mettrick and the team have been partaking in for many years, and many of the children that come to the shop have come back in many years later and remembered their time spent learning about butchery.

We spoke with John to find out what the week had in store for the 2024 event. “We have been inviting local primary school children into the shop for years,” John said, “teaching them about local meat and how it gets onto the plate. We show them how to make their own pies and how we make our sausages. They get to mix the meat with the rusk and the seasonings to produce the sausages and then they get to link them up. They take away about a pound of sausages each and a pork pie that they take home to their parents and hopefully they all enjoy them.”

John Mettrick and the team hope that through educating the children and enabling them to get a hands on experience will show and help children to better see where their food is coming from. In modern times where many items of food aimed at children are ultra processed, this experience is invaluable.

John added to this, saying: “National Butchers Week is all about raising public awareness about butchers and especially for the next generations for them to understand about their food where the meat comes from, how its’ prepared and the care that is taken in getting it ready for sale.”

Over the whole week Mettricks are taking on three schools with a select group of pupils from each getting the opportunity to see what goes on at the butchers.

John told us more about it, telling us “we have three schools coming in this week, Padfield school on the 5th, Dinting school on the 6th and Whitfield St James on the 7th. All together we have about 42 children actually coming into the butchers, so we make sure to cater for everybody and also have some vegetarian products that we will be making as well.”

Acting Headteacher for Padfield school Chris Howard was also present to oversee the afternoon for the Padfield pupils, and commented about the day saying: “Its great for the kids to see where our meat comes from and for them to get to see how their food is made.”

The children of Padfield got stuck in and enjoyed their time at Mettricks, and John told us “We are really looking forward to welcoming the rest of the children into the butchers.”

National Butchers Week is a special time in the calendar for butchers up and down the country, as it gives them the prime opportunity to show off their best produce and educate the new generations on techniques that have earned them their reputations for years.

 Equally, this month is about the public being able to celebrate the artistry, dedication, and expertise of their local butchers and the yearly event ultimately reminds the public of the value of purchasing high-quality and ethically sourced meats and reminds the locals of the importance of their local butcher.

Mettricks of Glossop are one of the butchers that use the week to educate schools in the High Peak area about what they do. This is a tradition that John Mettrick and the team have been partaking in for many years, and many of the children that come to the shop have come back in many years later and remembered their time spent learning about butchery.

We spoke with John to find out what the week had in store for the 2024 event. “We have been inviting local primary school children into the shop for years,” John said, “teaching them about local meat and how it gets onto the plate. We show them how to make their own pies and how we make our sausages. They get to mix the meat with the rusk and the seasonings to produce the sausages and then they get to link them up. They take away about a pound of sausages each and a pork pie that they take home to their parents and hopefully they all enjoy them.”

John Mettrick and the team hope that through educating the children and enabling them to get a hands on experience will show and help children to better see where their food is coming from. In modern times where many items of food aimed at children are ultra processed, this experience is invaluable.

John added to this, saying: “National Butchers Week is all about raising public awareness about butchers and especially for the next generations for them to understand about their food where the meat comes from, how its’ prepared and the care that is taken in getting it ready for sale.”

Over the whole week Mettricks are taking on three schools with a select group of pupils from each getting the opportunity to see what goes on at the butchers.

John told us more about it, telling us “we have three schools coming in this week, Padfield school on the 5th, Dinting school on the 6th and Whitfield St James on the 7th. All together we have about 42 children actually coming into the butchers, so we make sure to cater for everybody and also have some vegetarian products that we will be making as well.”

Acting Headteacher for Padfield school Chris Howard was also present to oversee the afternoon for the Padfield pupils, and commented about the day saying: “Its great for the kids to see where our meat comes from and for them to get to see how their food is made.”

The children of Padfield got stuck in and enjoyed their time at Mettricks, and John told us “We are really looking forward to welcoming the rest of the children into the butchers.”