The Break Down: Victor Martinet on the first ever European Cup!

In the lead up to World Butchers’ Challenge 2022, we’re (virtually) catching up with competitors around the world to see what they’ve been up to, what their game plan is for 2022 and how they’ve been keeping their skills sharp. This is: ‘The Break Down’.

This month we’re catching up with Victor Martinet of Team France ahead of the first ever European Cup taking place in Clermont-Ferrand in the centre of France!

Victor, what was the inspiration behind the creation of The European Cup?

We decided to create this competition to give the European teams a chance to prepare for the next World Butcher’s Challenge. We were so sad to have the last event cancelled and in France we’re used to many competitions but over the last year and a half we haven’t managed to hold any of them so we’re excited to reunite with our European fellows and showcase how each European country has a different approach to butchery.

It was important to us that we started life again, that was the first reason we decided to hold the cup for the first time. Of course we also use it as an opportunity to show the European people our craft. We are craft butchers; we have small shops, not big supermarkets so for us it’s very important to showcase the industry. Plus we’re always hiring, I get calls from butchers all over France searching for people because during Covid French butcheries were very busy and still are. It’s a good way to show possible apprentices how the meat sector can be so exciting.

 “We’re excited to reunite with our European fellows and showcase how each European country has a different approach to butchery.”

It sounds like it’s set to be an incredible event. How many teams are competing?

We have four teams, Germany, Italy, Spain and France.

Each team has five butchers, three senior butchers then one butcher under 35 and one under 25. There’s also two judges from each country to make it fair.

How will it all run?

It’s a two day event, starting on Sunday November 7th at 10am finishing at 4.30pm, afterwards there is an assembly of butchers where we speak about innovation in the meat industry. Then after the conference we have a gala dinner before starting the competition again at 7.30am on Monday and finishing at 12.30, then we’ll have the big awards ceremony on the Monday evening!

Each team will have 4 metres of showcased meat, totalling 16 metres of meat on showcase which we’ll be donating to an association called The Heart Restaurant, an organisation for the hungry. They’ll be collecting it on the Monday.

One more secret about the competition - we will actually be live streaming the event from Clermont-Ferrand in the centre of France, so that people can watch around the world

So your native Team France is competing against three other teams, is there anyone you’re particularly worried about beating?

Well we’re watching Germany and Italy training hard on social media but this is the first time we’ll see Spain compete so they’re a mystery, we’ll be watching them closely!

That sounds like an amazing event! What do you think makes European butchers different from the rest of the world?

Well, World Butcher’s Challenge created a community and gave us the chance to meet teams around the world and especially European teams who we now can see regularly and organise events such as this competition.

We are lucky to now be a close European butcher community, we all live just a few hours from each other so it is easy to meet and learn from each other.

And finally, how is your team preparing for WBC 2022?

We have been meeting at a butcher school in Paris, we have plenty of butchery schools across France but this one in Paris is for people who are already butchers but want to develop their skills. So our team is organising trainings every few weeks in this school to prepare for both the European Cup and World Butchers Challenge – we will be very prepared by the time get to Sacramento!

Watch all the 2021 European Cup Action here and see some of the exciting media coverage in France here.

Check out the European Cup Facebook Page for more!