A whānau business in Taranaki has seen success at the NZ Bacon and Ham awards, bringing home two awards.
The 100% New Zealand Bacon & Ham Awards 2024 saw 50 entries from across the motu, with rules dictating the pork could only be born and bred in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Expleō butchery owner Shawn Nicholas said his son managed the Te Awamutu branch, and his daughter was managing a recently opened branch in Kirkiriroa / Hamilton.
“We’ve been using the same recipe for our bacon since we’ve started, probably a year after we started.
“We’ve perfected a couple of things. But we only really do one type of bacon and to come out with the best dry cured streaky bacon in New Zealand is like, ‘oh my god, this is unbelievable’.”
Nicholas hopes to provide opportunities for rangatahi to build careers in meat works, and says he hopes his win encourages more young people to take up mahi in the industry.
“The ham announcements came through with the champion category for the sliced ham and that just was like ‘holy heck’.”
“Some massive, massive hours that we’ve pulled. I guess anyone in the butchery game,\ certainly understands those hours.
“It’s insane. But that’s kind of just what you got to do if you want to get ahead. Try and be successful. You just got to put the money in.”
He says being Māori in the meat business only makes things tougher.
“Other Māori businesses have come forward and feed off each other and that’s so cool. It makes you feel so cool that you’re a part of a wonderful community.”
Nicholas said the road didn’t end here. He already has his eyes set on other annual meat competitions in the future.