Neighbourhood butchers gain popularity, sex appeal

Time to toss out the cliché image of the neighbourhood butcher as a balding, blood-soaked hulk. The National Post is reporting a “renewed interest in butchery,” thanks in part to such publications as GQ and the New York Times fetishizing the men who wield the cleavers. Calling the butcher “the new rock star of the culinary world,” the Post says that the local butcher shop is a thriving business, recession or not.

Toronto offers a few cases in point: Stephen Alexander at Cumbrae’s and Ryan Donovan at Cowbell. And now there’s Peter Sanagan of Kensington Market’s Sanagan’s Meat Locker. Fresh faced and 33 years old, Sanagan attributes the success of his specialty meat shop not to his looks, but to a younger demographic of foodies who are looking for meat that is high quality and local. “People appreciate the way I buy meat. It’s not all organic—that’s just not feasible from a cost standpoint—but it’s ethically sourced.”

No release date yet for the Butchers of Toronto 2011 calendar.

• Good, better, butcher: Neighbourhood meat pros are making a comeback [National Post]