Master butcher: Priscilla Chetty’s inspiring career journey
For several years, Priscilla Chetty gave up career advancement opportunities, choosing to prioritise her young children.
Today she is one of only 25 globally recognised certified Master Butchers in KwaZulu-Natal, having graduated from the Shoprite Group’s Master Meat Artisan Programme.
Chetty started as a General Assistant at Shoprite Phoenix in 1994, working her way up to Meat Market Manager of Checkers Umhlanga by 2008.
Just four years later, having proven herself as a diligent and skilled employee, the retailer offered her the opportunity to become a Meat Market Trainer.
Mindful that the role required a fair amount of traveling, Chetty resisted her ambition and turned down the position to have more time with her children.
Her professional passions never desisted though, and in 2022 - with fourteen years of meat market management under her belt – Chetty grabbed the opportunity to qualify as Master Butcher, graduating from the programme in 2024.
Early this year, the retailer offered her the position of Senior Meat Market Manager at Checkers Virginia Circle in Durban - and this time she accepted.
“Hard work and dedication always pay off, and if you enjoy what you do, you become more motivated to achieve your goals. I am very grateful to the Shoprite Group for respecting my decision to only step into a senior role when the time was right – and keeping the door open that allowed me to achieve my career goals,” she shared.
Chetty said that her favourite part of being a Master Butcher is engaging with customers, particularly providing guidance on how to choose certain meat cuts and advising how they’re best prepared.
“The Master Meat Artisan butchery learning programme played an important role in cultivating an environment of improved communication, productivity and problem solving with the team. It was also an opportunity to engage with colleagues and share our experiences with one another,” she added.
The programme, underwritten by the UK’s Institute of Meat, provides participants with extensive knowledge in meat processing practices from farm to fork.
To qualify, butchers are required to build a substantial portfolio of evidence that includes modules on butchery expertise, business acumen and food hygiene and safety, among others, said Patti Quinton of the Shoprite Group.
Quinton said the Shoprite Group is the only company in Africa to provide this exclusive and highly specialised butchery learning programme.
She said the programme aims to boost the development of a scarce and sought-after skill, provide career opportunities for its employees and put its supermarkets on the map as world-class specialists in meat processing.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE