Chris Carthy Photo: Jackie Carthy
Chris Carthy was 12 when he first worked as a scrubber in Taggart's Butchery in Christchurch and went on to do his apprenticeship there under John Taggart.
"There where old men in the shop who had been butchering for 40 or 50 years and these guys taught me methods that are not even used commercially anymore which I try to stick to to this day," he says.
Since then Chris has created a fashion label, travelled the world as a roadie and has worked extensively in the film industry but he never lost his passion for meat.
"To this day, everywhere I go, I always stop to look in a butcher's shop window, not in a supermarket. I'm not interested in them because there's very little talent in there."
Several years ago Chris and his wife Jackie left Auckland and moved south after buying a small farm North Canterbury. It was the perfect opportunity for Chris to get back into doing what he started many years ago.
He is now growing and processing his own lamb and sells it direct to restaurants looking for high quality, artisanal meat.
"We're seeing a lot of chefs turning around and understanding what we do, knowing the traceability in our business, knowing what they're getting is drug free and that they can safely put that out to their customer's because I grew it and we have a whole mob that's just specific for those restaurants."
