Cherise Redden is heading to World Butcher’s Challenge in Paris to bring home the bacon

Cherise Redden has her knives sharpened and is ready to take on the best butchers in Paris as part of the Sharp Blacks team.

• Cherise Redden, butchery manager at Pak’nSave Glen Innes, will compete in the World Butchers’ Challenge in Paris.
• Redden is the only female on the Sharp Blacks team.
• Her 19-year career includes numerous accolades, and she is proud to represent her profession and heritage.

Wāhine Māori butcher Cherise Redden, the butchery manager at Pak’nSave Glen Innes, East Auckland, is heading to Paris to represent New Zealand as part of the Hellers Sharp Blacks team at the World Butchers’ Challenge.

As the only female in the six-man team, Redden will be competing alongside five other butchers from across New Zealand. The squad also has one female reserve.

The competition, which takes place March 30-31, features 14 teams from around the world, and judges will assess butchers on hygiene, cleanliness, efficiency, safety, product cookability, and the presentation of the meat.

Redden (Ngāpuhi) says she is humbled to have the opportunity to represent her country “on the world stage”.

“I never thought I’d be able to travel just by cutting meat and being a butcher,” Redden said.

“I’ve just spent the majority of my time trying to improve myself, doing the best that I can and it has got me here,” she says.

Her butchering career spans 19 years, with five years as a qualified professional. She has earned numerous awards, including the 2019 Apprentice of the Year award and the 2021 Best Young Butcher title.

Sharp Black Cherise Redden.

Redden’s invitation to join the Sharp Blacks team was a magic moment for her and her whānau, she said.

At 36 years old and a proud mum, Redden can’t wait to get to Paris to showcase her skills. She will work with half a beef, half a pig, a whole lamb and five chickens. Her love for the butchery trade, her community, and the people she meets fuels her passion.

Redden grew up in Pakūranga and aged 17 was unemployed. A friend’s dad asked if she’d like to get a job in a meat works and she leapt at the opportunity.

She said as soon as she walked into the male-dominated meats works, “I wanted to get a knife in my hands.”

“I’ve been lucky to be surrounded by supportive men in my industry”.

Redden said the only ever discrimination she’s faced was from the occasional customers at Pak’nSave who asked to talk to a butcher when she answered the phone.

As for her driving kaupapa, Redden said she wants “to provide opportunities for the younger generation to succeed”.