Diploma delight for young butcher

A LOCAL butcher is celebrating after being awarded the highest qualification currently available in Scottish butchery.

Liam Davie, 25, is one of eight people who have just been awarded a Craft Butcher Diploma.

It is jointly awarded by Scottish Craft Butchers and the Scotch Butchers Club, which is run by Quality Meat Scotland.

Davie, who has worked for Sound Butchers in Lerwick for the last few years, said he was pleased to have received the diploma.

He explained that an examiner came to Shetland to follow him in his job for a day.

The diploma is said to be “internationally recognised as formal and comprehensive evidence of quality training and achievement in the Scottish retail meat industry”.

Gordon Newlands, brand development Manager at Quality Meat Scotland, said: “Scotland’s craft butchers are the backbone of our communities, known for their skill, pride and dedication to quality.

“The Craft Butcher Diploma sets a high standard for the industry, and we’re incredibly proud to support it through the Scotch Butchers Club.

“These eight individuals have shown outstanding commitment and professionalism – they’re a credit to their businesses and the wider industry.”

Scottish Craft Butchers manager Gordon King said the diploma “isn’t just a piece of paper – it’s a mark of excellence”.

“It shows that these butchers have reached the very highest level in their craft. The standard has never been higher, and these individuals should be incredibly proud of what they’ve achieved.”