There are meat cutters, and then there are butchers. Dave “The Honest Butcher” Ritzer is definitely the latter. Schooled in the art of whole animal butchering, Dave is part of a new vanguard of butchers who are dedicated to sustainability and doing things the right way. After closing his Kitsilano butcher shop, The Honest Butcher, in the Spring of 2013, Dave has kept himself busy by travelling, learning, getting inspired and producing a 10 part YouTube series on sustainable butchering. Also upcoming will be his collaboration with Prevail, a video travel series called Dynamic Duos, where the world of drink meets the world of meat at BC farms, breweries, wineries and distilleries.
Dave took time from his busy schedule to sit down over a beer and discuss all things meat.
First off, Dave, how did you get your start in “butchery”? I’ve always been concerned with where my food was coming from, how it’s being produced, and who is giving it to me. I’ve always been into cooking and food in general. To make a long story short, I moved from Calgary to Winnipeg, and one day I went into a little food and wine shop that conveniently had a little butcher shop tucked away in the corner. I went in to buy a bottle of wine, and ended up talking to the butcher and buying a piece of meat. And I was just really fascinated by the process. So I went back a couple of weeks later and asked if I could apprentice with him. It took a little while, but eventually he gave in, and five years later, I decided to leave Winnipeg and head to Vancouver.
So I came here, worked in a handful of grocery stores, and then decided I really wanted to instill more of a “whole animal” program. So I eventually opened my own shop – The Honest Butcher – where I was able to do that. It was great: cutting meat, utilizing the whole animal and keeping things sustainable.
What do you mean by “whole animal” butchering? It is a butcher who is committed to by buying a whole animal, preferably locally, ethically sourced, and selling that, as opposed to buying commercially produced meat from some kind of wholesale supplier, where 99.9 per cent of the time you have no idea where it’s coming from and who’s handled it and what kind of life it has led. It’s buying exclusively whole animals from local farmers and ranchers, who hopefully you have been able to meet and build a relationship with, and being happy with the treatment of the animals.
Are you proud to be a butcher? Is there a stigma attached to it? Yeah, I think there is a bit of a stigma with being a butcher. I am definitely more proud to be a butcher as opposed to being a meat cutter, to have the ability to take the whole animal and break it down. I’m really happy with what I’ve learned and the skills I have developed over the past ten years. And the ability to appreciate that meat comes from animals and animals need to die in order for us to survive, and to be able to utilize every bit of that animal in the best way possible.
How would you label butchery: an art, a skill, a talent? All three? All three of those things, for sure. It’s definitely an art: the ability to use a blade, and cut the animal down and break into primals and sub-primals. There is definitely an artistic touch to it.
And I guess like anything, if you want to be good, it takes years of honing your skills and talents. Absolutely. It’s a never-ending learning curve, especially when you are committing yourself to whole animal butchery and not just cutting boxed, commercially produced meat. I am constantly learning, constantly evolving. It’s a lifelong commitment.
Speaking of evolution, how has butchery evolved over the years? Is it the same now as ten, twenty years ago? It’s evolved ten-fold, actually, especially in the last five years. It was in the early 1950s when we as a culture really shifted our views about meat and where it comes from. You would go to the butcher to get your meat, and the fishmonger to get your seafood. People specialized in the product they were selling.
But especially in the last five years, when it comes to whole animal and us regaining our sense of acknowledgement toward all things sustainable. There is a huge movement, with tons of shops, especially in the States, who are exclusively whole animal butcher shops. There is no pre-made, pre-boxed, commercial meat.
I want to know why you were the “Honest” Butcher? The gist of it for me was simply that I am honest in the fact that I don’t try to sugarcoat or hide or pretend that meat does not come from animals. I’m an honest butcher because I appreciate and acknowledge that animals have to give their lives for us to eat them. “Where did this pig come from?” Well, it was killed this morning, and I am open to talk about the harsh realities of life to make things a bit more palatable for the average consumer.
What are you up to now? What kinds of things are you working on? A ton. I have been travelling a lot. After I closed the shop, in May of 2013, I started travelling back and forth to California – Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland – hanging out and visiting butcher shops and butcher friends, getting inspired again.
I have been cooking a ton and writing a ton, and focusing a lot of energy on this new YouTube channel we started. A good friend of mine, and a brilliant filmmaker, Katie Weldon, put together a bunch of footage that we have had from the shop and we put together a ten part series on sustainability, called “The Honest Butcher.”
What about the future? Filming. I just spent a ton of time filming in Oregon, which I have spent hours editing, and that will be a part of a new episode. And then Prevail and I are working on a new project called Dynamic Duos, which is an amazing concept.
We will be travelling to six different places in the province: two breweries, two wineries and two distilleries. Prev will go off and educate us on all things liquid, and I will do the same from a farming and meat perspective, and at the end of the day we come together and enjoy the dynamic duo of meat and drink.
Dave’s story is part of our month-long Living the Dream series and My Guide to the Good Life contest, sponsered by Vancouver Craft Beer Week. Educating people about food is his idea of the Good Life; what’s yours? Show us for your chance to win. Enter at Apps.facebook.com/mygoodlife
